Regarding your comment earlier about blood oaths:
This information is false. The blood oath was promoted by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints. I would encourage you to only visit legitimate sites of the Mormon faith (i.e. those created by the Mormon faith) to do research on what we truly believe.

As for the missionaries you had encountered, I am sorry to hear that they laughed at you, and humbly ask you to not allow them to mar your view of Mormons as a people. Those were simply two nineteen / twenty year olds who do not reflect Mormon missionaries as a whole. My own brother is currently serving a mission, and would never respond to questions of those not of our faith in such a manner. There are no stupid questions.

Being a Mormon, I ask that other topics on your site, such as the one stating that Mormons believe God is an alien, be thoroughly researched before being posted. I know you have done a lot of research on the Mormon faith, but please do not state your own radical conclusions such as this on a “.org” site. Such information is misleading. While some facts about our belief system may have lead you to conclude we believe God is an alien, that conclusion in itself is not fact. I know that this is not a Mormon site and I, personally, have no control over what is posted, but people tend to take “.org” sites seriously – ergo, what is posted should be accurately represented and supportable by non-refutable sources.

Also, for future reference, when reading our own documents, such as the Book of Mormon, please be sure you are reading a book titled “The Book of Mormon” and not “Book of Mormon.” The latter is of a spin-off group of our faith.

If you have any further questions, I would be happy to answer. But please know that some things we believe are very sacred to us, and cannot be spoken of lightly. I am truly sorry if, upon asking questions about our “secret rituals,” you were answered in such a way that would lead you to believe one was avoiding the question or lying by omission. I myself have been caught in this situation, and it is hard to answer these questions. When answering these questions, it is difficult to give an outsider to our faith a clear understanding of these practices, and it is hard not to seem like we are avoiding the question when put on the spot like this. Most of us really do wish to answer the question, but we (or at least I) do not someone to see these practices in such a way as to mock them simply because they do not understand. They are sacred to us because what we believe allows us to appreciate them. One who is not a member of our faith, and does not wish to be, cannot appreciate them for what they truly are, and when taken out of context, they seem silly. Take for example, communion, a practice of many Christian faiths. (Note: Mormons have a similar practice, known as the “sacrament,” but without the same connotations as other Christian faiths.) During communion, it is believed that one is literally drinking the blood and eating the body of Christ. This is a serious subject. However, when taken out of context, this may, on the surface, seem silly or untrue. That is only because one who does not truly believe in transubstantiation cannot comprehend the deeper meaning or see it as sacred, thereby giving one a flawed view of the ritual.

One last thing: a Christian is defined as one who worships Christ as their Savior. We are Christians, and take misconceptions about this very seriously.

Knowing this, please feel free to ask me any questions.

After Jesus went back to heaven, the first church was born in Antioch.

Then the first missionaries went to Italy, Cyprus Greece etc.

Paul kept an eye on all the churches by writing letters to them if they didn’t get it quite right.
Things were fairly standard for a while up to around 50AD, then with the passing of time we got into 100, 150, 200AD etc, things began to gradually change, generations of people lived and died.

Here we are in the Year 2008 with a much bigger population and after suffering many wars, over time churches became different, yet still believing in God and Jesus.
Politics slipped in the equation and the whole belief system became increasingly chaotic with Satan increasingly controlling the world.
Satan is reaching his peak now, but it is weakening slowly.

The signs of Jesus’s second coming are slowly dawning on this lost world and everyone is in for a very bad time.
It’s like weathering a massive storm, however it’s not the end.

Once the storm has passed the clouds will part and the love of jesus will shine through the clouds for 1000 years, before another great unknown storm, then Gods kingdom will come and the light of his kingdom will shine forever and sin will be lost.

My concern is for those who are lost who are going to become duped by a religion that is so secretive and one that is steering them down a path of self-righteousness rather than one of the righteousness of Chrsit.

Your reprinting of the statements of faith are not entirely what your church sells down the road. There are thousands of ex-LDS members that tell an additional story and one that is not like your statements of faith or anything Jesus Christ preached… of course that is so far as it is correctly translated.

I think that’s unfortunate that you quote the New Testament regarding gamaliel in this situation, because your missionaries were directly countering this. They knew I was a Christian and one that volunteers in ministry to addicted individuals. They felt it necessary to ignore that quote to further their command from your church.

That’s the “Truth about the Mormons” The very Spirit of God has testified to my soul that these things are true. My testimony of this is independent of any other person- I have learned it for myself through much study and prayer. I invite any and all to “try the Spirit by the Spirit”- to pray and humbly and sincerely ask God to know if these things are true. I know that if one truly does “hunger and thirst after righteousness,” if one truly wishes to draw closer to our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son Jesus Christ, this is a sure way of accomplishing this. I simply desire the wish of Gamaliel (from the New Testament), when he said, “Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.” If this church is the work of men, it will surely come to naught, but if it be of God, then it will roll forward. I believe with all my soul that it is in deed of God. Thanks Matt, again, God Bless!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_oath_(Latter_Day_Saints)

From what I recall about Jesus was that there was no secrecy. Quite the opposite, really.

Check around on Youtube for some former Mormons talking about it. What is even scarier was the commentary following these where people still in the Mormon church said, “yeah, so what.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy0d1HbItOo

is another interesting video in which Mormons say the facts are taken out of context or portrayed in an unflattering light, but don’t refute any of it. The guys that came by my house didn’t talk about any of this. They probably only break this stuff out once you are in pretty deep.

Now, if you want to tell me this is Christianity I will most certainly disagree with you. Call it a lack of acceptance if you want but I do not want to be associated with any of it.

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I often wonder why my fellow Christians have such a hard time accepting us. It’s like we’re outcasts among our own people.

Maybe you’ve met some different Christians but I have no issue “accepting” Mormons. I have never had an adversarial personal relationship with any I’ve known. I just don’t agree. Apparently this is mutual because I have members of your church coming to save me from Hell.

Btw, I think if you look at some of the rules put on your LDS missionaries as far regarding their association with non-members of the church and requiring ID card access to get into particular ceremonies, the LDS church is actually keeping others away. Did you read my post about my experiences? Is what you read the mark of LDS expressing acceptance and love?

Anyway, the beliefs of your church vs that of protestant-based Christianity are very different. We’re not talking about minor doctrinal points. We are talking about fundamental issues such as who is saved and who is not. Also, who was Jesus Christ? When I got down to brass tacks with the missionaries that came to save me, it was very hard to get them to discuss these issues but when they did, it was very clear. I think the LDS deliberately blurs this line intentionally, because the missionaries I have encountered over the years use outright deception to avoid topics. I can’t think of a question that a person could ask me about my faith where I would need to deceive them. Christ doesn’t need us to deceive in order to reveal the truth later.

Let’s talk about this “acceptance” theme you keep using in your comment (which is appreciated and accepted, though I obviously disagree). “Accepting” is not “agreement”. It’s funny though that your use of the world only seems to apply when you’re talking about people accepting (agreeing) with LDS – it doesn’t go the other way. If I’ve somehow mistaken that, come on out to Charleston to my church and hang out. You can even come to the most sacred of ceremonies and we can do a bible study together. Any takers? Any missionaries want to eat at my house? Can I come do the same at the LDS church? Would they accept my beliefs or call me an apostate behind my back (or in front)? If you accept/agree with me, then why do I have missionaries wanting to convert me to another flavor of the same belief? That’s because they are not the same belief.

I’ve never heard of a Baptist who tried to find fault in the Methodist doctrines, or Lutheran doctrines. Many people think that they are all the same, but I know that they are not. I have many friends who are very devout members of their different denomination (and very knowledgeable as well) they will be the first to tell you that the doctrines are different. I’ve heard that although they have different beliefs, they are all united in Christ.

Guess you haven’t met enough Baptists (lol) or any Christians for that matter. We pick at each other all the time (seriously – it’s constant and it sucks). Minus a few crazies though, we’re not out there trying to convert each other and save one another from damnation. LDS is out there doing that. Otherwise when they hear that I’m a Christian they would say, “Awesome”!

I agree, but wonder why Mormons aren’t accepted as having different beliefs, but being united in Christ.

We do accept that you have different beliefs, which is exactly why we disagree. Because we’re not united in Christ if you honestly compare what our two religions believe about Christ – we’re talking the very basis of his life and death, not something like where he was born or his shoe size.

Why also did your missionaries tell me every “Christian pastor” is an “apostate”? If you guys really are “Christians” like us and so interested in unity, then why did

• they even make a distinction between protestant-based Christian pastors and LDS?
• call all of them apostates?

Many people who don’t know otherwise try diligently to spread lies and deception about the LDS Church, which confuses me.

The missionaries I talked to said that pretty much anything I read on the web is untrue. They literally said, “And you believe everything you read on the Internet?” I then showed them that these were quotes from their own books. I think they really believed that bit about the Internet being 100% full of lies and can only assume they are told that to keep them off random areas of the web. Since you had no idea Christians are regularly slammed on the web, I’m guessing you don’t hit much of the web, either – at least “Christian sites”.

I believe God’s blessing of the Internet has had caused the most fundamental leap in truth being revealed since the printing press. It has. Of course one needs verification, but the Internet provides that too with open forums for dialogue and the ability to challenge pieces on your own site. That is why you have so many former LDS members writing their stories about the church. Nearly all have to do with deception, denial, and controlling issues being at the crux of why they left. They aren’t fabulously ornate, dramatic, or even juicy stories. Their articles don’t come off as bitter and act like they just felt the LDS is different than advertised and got even stranger as they went on. I don’t see any rebuttal of former LDS member’s points on sites that allow open dialogue. The counter-arguments are about unrelated topics and resort to name-calling or calling them liars. Every former LDS member with a gripe on those sites are liars?

Why bother if we’re just a bunch of crazies?! No one seems to single out and attack other denominations.

You need to look around the internet more. I work on the web for a living and it is filled with anti-Christ bias and hatred. Also, remember that my post didn’t come from some weird vendetta. I had these guys stop by my house, ask to come in, and then slam my faith, my actual physical church I’m a member of, and then snicker in my face when I said things they didn’t agree with. Who was singling out and attacking?

There are many “Anti-Mormon” books and websites, but I’ve never heard of a website professing to know “The Truth about Baptists” or “What the Methodists DON’T tell you…”

That is because Baptists and Methodists don’t have closed doors as to what happens in their church functions. There are key components of your faith deliberately kept hidden and lied about via omission of truth.

• I have experienced this personally when I asked about the secret handshake and the missionaries laughed it off and said, “there is no secret handshake” with the implication there never was. Technically true… because there is no handshake… any more. They use an ID card now. This was confirmed by multiple other members of your own church.
• The missionaries would not answer direct questions about quotes from your churches own sacred books where I said, hey, this is very different from what I’m understanding about the Bible. They didn’t answer and tried to take us down a rabbit hole criticizing my faith.
• When I did have a difficult question about their faith, they showed their true colors and started attacking the Bible. What Christian would do that to prove their point? Obviously your allegiance is elsewhere

Where’s the love? The Jesus I read about everyday in my King James Version of the Bible (the only version I read from) was about love and acceptance, with no exceptions…Where has that beautiful message been lost?

Again, Christians should love LDS members and I think most do. I love the guys who came by to see me but I don’t agree with them and believe they are leading people down a dangerous road where their works and ritual will lead to their salvation. That exists in parts of what I deem to be Christianity and is equally as dangerous here. It has led to millions of people wasting their lives trying to do it on their own and never understanding the mercy, grace, and power from Christ’s death on the cross. Trying to “be good people” when understanding the grace of the cross leads to what the LDS tries to manufacture. The very nature of mankind prevents this.

Every other major world religion believes in a connection with God from works in some form as well besides protestant-base Christianity. Of course works are evidence of a changed heart but that is like pull marketing vs push marketing.

From my personal experiences, LDS missionaries use great buzzwords such as “peace”, “love”, and “acceptance” but then follow it up with self-righteousness and outright deception. I believe their associating themselves with “Christianity” given your churches vastly different beliefs on who Christ is and what his life and death accomplished is exactly why Christians disassociate their beliefs from yours. I don’t see the LDS church interested in unity unless that means everyone will agree with them unquestioningly.

I know what you mean about “know your bible.”

Personally, I’m absolutely sold out/on fire for the Lord. I have an incredible amount of passion inside of me that eliminates any question of “is God real?” I love how I experience God…how I know when I’m walking in his will. There are times that I truly feel like I am in the presence of a mighty and holy God.

However, none of that is good enough when it comes to non-believers and people of other faiths. They don’t care about those “emotional highs.” They’re not interested in the feelings of our faith. And, to agree with you, quite often they annihilate us with their knowledge of the text of OUR faith. Doesn’t make for too strong of an argument on our side…

Anyhow, I like your blog. I’ll be stopping by frequently. Brian Lewis pointed me here. Later, man!! Keep on rockin.

b