Just like you obviously feel you have to slander the Lord's church with your website I felt I had to tell you what I think. People who work to destroy the faith and lifestyles of other people are really very pathetic individuals. In one respect I am angered by your destructive approach, but even more I feel sorry for someone, anyone, who is obviously as misguided and miserable as yourself. Live your life as you choose, no one is stopping you but quit trying to make yourself feel better by attacking the truth. You obviously aren't Catholic, where's your website about what they teach? You're not Budist, where's your website about their teachings? Grow up and move on would be my suggestion.

Dear E___,

 

Thank you for taking the time to write me...Just as you were saddened, and even angered at my testimony of leaving Mormonism, I am saddened by your response. It is typical of active Mormons to assume that anyone who leaves the Church must be hateful, vindictive, Satan-inspired, and miserable. Nothing could be further from the truth; but that is what Church leaders have told members and they believe it without thinking things through for themselves.

 

Let’s take this out of the Mormon/ex-Mormon context. Let’s say you had a Jehovah’s Witness (Watch Tower Society) friend who converted to Mormonism through her own study and missionary efforts. She would be so excited because she found what she believed was true. Because she had been a lifelong JW and now knowing that the Watch Tower Society was false, she would want to warn her friends, family, and other JWs as the Bible instructs, “Let he who has been warned warn his neighbor.” Because she knew the JW belief system very well, she would know what was wrong with it; namely, that they teach a different Jesus than Mormons teach and other false doctrines. Their Jesus is not the Son of God, nor our spirit brother, but really the earthly name for Michael the Archangel. Salvation does not come through him, but through adherence to the teachings of the Watchtower Society. Maybe she had a friend who died in the hospital because the WTS (Watchtower Society) teaches that blood transfusions are wrong. Why do they think they are wrong? Because of a Bible verse their “prophet” took completely out of context, in which God commanded Israel not to drink blood. What does drinking blood have to do with blood transfusions? Nothing! So her friend died because of belief in a false teaching.

 

Your hypothetical ex-JW friend studied her religion’s history and found that its doctrines had been changed over the years, yet the leaders have told members they have not changed. She knows that Charles T. Russell, their founding prophet, gave many prophecies that did not come to pass. Her Church leaders over the years took those failed prophecies out of their literature so that current members would not know. She found many other things that prove WTS is a false religion that leads people away from Heavenly Father and truth.

 

Tell me this; would you condemn her for trying to warn other Jehovah’s Witnesses? Would you accuse her of trying to destroy the faith of others if she tried to tell them that if they reject the Mormon gospel they will be eternally separated from Heavenly Father? Would you advise her to just keep her mouth shut and let other JWs believe what they want to, even if it meant they would not be able to have “forever families?” I would think that as a devout Mormon you would commend her for her faithfulness and encourage her to do all she could to bring her friends and family to a knowledge of the gospel as taught by the Mormon Church. If not, shame on you! If Mormonism is the truth, one would think a devout member such as yourself would be doing all they could to share the LDS gospel with others, even if it meant showing them how their religious beliefs cannot take them to the Celestial Kingdom. I would think an active Latter-day Saint would love his or her fellow-men enough to reach them with the gospel message.

 

That is what Mormon missionaries are doing; going door to door telling Christians that their gospel won’t save them, that they must receive the ordinances of the Mormon Church in order to live with Heavenly Father. The missionaries are basically telling people that the Bible is not reliable, therefore new revelation is necessary---revelation provided by Joseph Smith and living LDS prophets. Are they not destroying the faith of others, if you apply the same standards to Mormons as Mormons apply to those of us who have left the Church? You would probably answer “no,” but that would be a double standard. It seems so often that Mormons don’t believe in two-way streets; they believe streets can only go ONE way---theirs!

 

As in the example of the Jehovah’s Witness, I feel great sorrow over the fact that many LDS will perish because of beliefs in false doctrines and a false god. In my case, I have been ahead on the “road” and saw that the bridge was out. So I have gone back to warn my people (the Mormons) that danger lies before them. If you want to “run me off the road,” so-to-speak, so you can just go careening over the cliff, that’s your business, as you told me in essence. However, don’t ridicule those who decide to make a u-turn and get onto a safer highway. Don’t try to run over the flagman. I can’t stop the flow of LDS traffic as they barrel down the path to destruction, but I can wave a red flag and hope to rescue a few souls before it’s too late.

 

You are free to believe what you want. You are free to ignore facts. You are at liberty to put your doubts about Mormonism on the “back burner” (and I assume you have some doubts or you would not be looking at so-called anti-Mormon websites). You can refuse to investigate and study your own religion and see for yourself the failed prophecies, doctrinal changes, revised history, etc.; that is your choice. I am not twisting your arm to leave the Mormon Church, although I encourage you to really “study to show yourself approved” (2 Timothy 2:15) and “test the spirits (the ones giving you a burning in the bosom) to see if they really are from God” (1 John 4:1).

 

My calling is to lay out the differences between the Mormon gospel and the biblical gospel so people can make a fully informed choice when the LDS missionaries come knocking. Missionaries won’t tell investigators that their god is an exalted man and that men can become gods. They won’t tell investigators that until recently it was openly taught that God the Father had sexual intercourse with Mary to conceive Jesus. If you don’t believe that is a teaching of the church, find a copy of the 1971 Family Home Evening manual or look up the conference talks about it from the late 1800’s. I was taught that doctrine in Provo High School seminary in 1975. The missionaries won’t tell investigators that Christ’s atonement doesn’t cover all sins. They don't tell people that the Mormon Jesus is different from the Christian Jesus (see Church News, June 20, 1998, p. 7). Why don’t they? Because if they divulged those doctrines to most people, especially Christians, they would get precious few converts. That’s a bit disingenuous, is it not?

 

So my website is meant for Christians and other non-Mormons, to let them know what real Mormon doctrines are compared to what the Bible teaches. If they still want to join the LDS Church that is their choice, but at least they will be able to make a decision with as much information as possible. You wouldn’t buy a car from a stranger without knowing what was under the hood; even more important to know what the components of a religion are before buying into it. I’m not twisting anyone’s arm to visit my website. I just make information available to those who value loyalty to truth over loyalty to an organization or group of people.

 

You accuse me of being destructive and automatically assume I am miserable. If sharing the true gospel that Jesus taught is being destructive then I am guilty as charged. I suppose when Jesus threw the money-changers out of the temple and called the Pharisees hypocrites He was being destructive too. As far as being miserable, that is far, far from reality. I have the peace that passes all understanding. My heart is filled with joy because of what Jesus did for me. I am happy! SO happy, in fact, that I want to share that joy with others so they can come to Jesus of the Bible and be saved and experience greater joy and peace than they have ever known! I’m sorry you don’t see it that way, but that is your choice.

 

You say that Satan is miserable and wants others to be miserable like himself. Where in the Bible does it state that Satan wants to be miserable? Where does the Bible say that Satan is having a hissy-fit because he can’t have a body like the rest of us? It doesn’t. That is a Mormon teaching. The Bible teaches that Satan is so full of pride that he wants to be as God. He really thinks he is going to exalt himself above God’s throne (read Isaiah chapter 14 and Ezekiel chapter 28). The first thing Satan did in the Garden of Eden was try to put doubt into Eve’s mind about God and His word, “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Genesis 3:1). He pretty much called God a liar when he contradicted God, “Ye shall not surely die” (Gen. 3:4). Then he implied there are many gods and Eve could be like one of them. We already know that Satan is a liar; in fact the Bible calls him the "father of lies." He told three biggies in the garden; 1) God’s word cannot be trusted, 2) there are many gods, and 3) men can become gods.

The Mormon Church is perpetuating those three lies! 1) “The Bible is not translated correctly” (8th Article of Faith), 2) “There are a plurality of Gods” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 372), and 3) Speaking to the saints, Joseph Smith said, “they [shall] be gods…to inherit the same power, the same glory, and the same exaltation until you arrive at the station of a God, and ascend the throne of eternal power, the same as those who have gone before” (Teachings of the prophet Joseph Smith, p. 347). Hmmm, it seems to me that if anyone is emulating Satan it would be the Mormons, not those who have left Mormonism.

 

In one respect I am disappointed by your accusatory approach, but even more I am deeply saddened that someone, anyone, refuses to look at the truth because they presume to already have it. You advised me to live my life as I choose and I advise you to do the same; Live your life as you choose, no one is stopping you, but quit trying to bolster your waning testimony of Mormonism by attacking those who have left it for truth.

 

You asked why don’t I go-depth on Catholicism or Buddhism on my website. For the same reason a dermatologist doesn’t deliver babies or an orthopedic surgeon doesn’t do face-lifts. Catholicism and Buddhism are not my specialties. I’m a former Mormon, not a former Catholic. I could ask you the same question; why aren’t you sending angry emails to ex-Catholics or ex-Buddhists? Don’t you want to tell them to grow up and move on? Why are you only directing your anger at those who have left the Mormon Church?

I am not going to tell you to “grow up and move on” because that would be rude. Instead I recommend humbling yourself and throwing yourself at the foot of the Cross to ask the biblical Jesus for forgiveness and salvation. The truth shall set you free.

 

Tracy

 

Editor's note: This individual is what I call a "hit and run Mormon;" someone who emails to vent their views and then blocks or cancels their email account so they don't have to deal with a response. She emailed a second time after I replied, then canceled her email account out of fear or anger. These people need to remember that they are the ones who initially contacted us. We are not going to harrass them or bombard them with emails. We believe we should be able to respond to their accusations, however. I am including my second response even though she did not receive it. 

 

 

Just as an FYI:  "and I assume you have some doubts or you would not be looking at so-called anti-Mormon websites"  I was not searching for answers to supposed doubts, as I am confident in my relationship with my Savior and His church, I had done just what you hope people will do and typed in "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" looking for graphics for a project and, as you had hoped people would, found your site. I do indeed share the gospel message with friends, but I don't tear down their churches or make critical comments about their beliefs or leaders.  I tell them what we believe and why we believe it and leave the rest to them.  There's a big difference in offering people the gospel and all that goes with it by sharing and building a website (or any other means) that is deliberately distructive and cruel.  It is not your "sharing your beliefs in Christ" that I find offensive, it's your deliberate attempt to destroy good that prompted my e-mail to you.  My husband and I were once Catholic but we don't go around telling our many Catholic friends things to destroy their beliefs.  We share ours and love them inspite of our differences, as well as have many, many enjoyable discussions.  My boss and his family are Jewish and his wife and I have had many wonderful gospel related discussions.  I would not for a second say anything that would be deliberately insulting or degrading to her or anyone about their faith.  And that is the biggest difference probably in how I share the joy of my faith in my Savior and how you are "sharing" yours.  You don't have to tear someone elses beliefs down in order to share your own.  But then I also know that I don't have the ability to "convert" anyone to the gospel because only the Spirt can truly convert.  All I can do is share and love and I am happy to do that and let the rest take place as the individual and the Lord see fit.

I wish the best to you inspite of your destructive efforts, E___

Dear E___,

Thank you for civil and sincere email. Most of the emails I get from Mormons are mean and extremely rude. One Mormon wrote to say "your God is a loser!" Another wrote to prophecy against me, calling me a liar and saying I would be weeping and wailing and gnashing my teeth if I did not repent and come back to the Church. So it is refreshing to get an intelligent and frank-but-polite email from an LDS person such as yourself.

I Google-searched "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" and looked at the first 25 pages of results and did not see any link to my website. Again, you must have gotten my personal email address off of someone else's site because MY website is factual, respectful, and kind.

 

For example, I have an article entitled "Myths About Mormons," where I dispel some of the misunderstandings of Mormonism. Like "Do Mormons have horns?” (NO) and "Why do Mormon missionaries try to deceive people?" (They don't. They truly believe they are teaching truth.). “Do Mormons really wear magic underwear?” (Not exactly; they wear an undergarment they consider to be holy…) You can read it for yourself and see that I am treating LDS beliefs respectfully.

Here is another paragraph off my website that compliments LDS people:

"Generally speaking, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are model citizens. They are devout in their beliefs, family-oriented, are clean in language and appearance, eschew smoking, drinking, and carousing, and are active in the PTA, as well as in politics. Mormons are often the first to show up on your doorstep with a fresh-baked loaf of bread when you move next door to them. They are hard-working and honest people. LDS kids, for the most part, are the kind of kids parents like their own children to "hang out" with because they tend to stay out of trouble and have strong moral values."

My "Basic Mormon Doctrines" page matter-of-factly explains the Articles of Faith and what they mean according to LDS teachings (backed by references fro official LDS sources). There is nothing disrespectful at all. When I list the 13th Article of Faith, "We believe in being honest, true, chase, benevolent, etc." I write, "And devout Mormons do indeed." Again, a compliment.

 

I am very anxious to know what specifically about MY website is deliberately insulting, degrading, or untrue? Please tell me if there is any false information about Mormon doctrines or teachings and I will gladly remove it.

 

You wrote that it is my "deliberate attempt to destroy good" that you find offensive. I'm sorry you see it that way. As a whole, the Mormon people are very good people by human standards. Those who are devout are kind, industrious, neighborly people who are quick to help others out. But our own goodness does not get us into heaven. There are countless people and groups that do good things; I have a sister-in-law who is atheist and she is very kind, honest, and hard-working. Yet Jesus said, "Straight is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and few there be that find it." The Bible clearly teaches that "there are none who are good, no, not one. All have gone astray." Isaiah said that all our righteous acts are "filthy rags" before the Lord, because He is SO holy and righteous (Isa. 64:6). Paul wrote to the Ephesians that we "are saved by grace through faith, and NOT of works, lest any should boast" (Eph. 2:8-9).

 

Mormons often point to Matthew 7:16 which says, "By their fruits ye shall know them." They say, "Look at all the good fruit coming from Mormons! We lead clean lives, we do good to others, we are hard-working people, etc." Yes, that is very true. But read the verse in context. Jesus is not speaking about how to tell if someone is a good person or if some particular church or organization is true. The context of the whole passage is about FALSE PROPHETS. In context, Jesus is saying that the way to know false prophets from true ones is to look at their doctrinal fruit. The doctrines of Joseph Smith and subsequent LDS prophets contradict what the prophets of the Bible taught. Mormon doctrines contradict and deny what God already established and revealed about Himself in both the Old and New Testaments. The Bible says God was always God and never anything less than God and He knows of NO other Gods. He said there were no Gods before Him and NO Gods will be formed AFTER Him. Smith taught the opposite, saying that God was NOT always God, but started out as an Intelligence, became a spirit person, was born on another earth and worked his way to godhood. He said taught that people can evolve into gods themselves. The point is this; that it is the FRUIT of those who claim to be prophets that must be inspected, NOT how wonderful the prophets' followers are.

From what you wrote about your dealings with your non-Mormon friends, you seem to be a very sweet, wonderful person. You are living in accordance with your beliefs in LDS teachings. You share the Mormon gospel by being a gentle example to others. If Mormonism is true, then that is certainly a praiseworthy way of proselytizing, because if the people you are sharing the Mormon gospel with don't accept it in this life, they will have the opportunity in the Spirit World to accept it and have the temple work done for them.

Regarding accepting or rejecting the gospel, the Bible says something completely different. It says that "man is appointed once to die, but THEN THE JUDGMENT" (Hebrews 9:27). It does NOT say "man is appointed once to die and if he hasn't accepted the gospel on earth he has another shot at it after death!" Paul said for the believer, "Absent from the body, present with the Lord" (2 Cor. 5:7).We can infer the opposite is true for the unbeliever; "absent from the body, in eternal torment." In that case, we can’t just be good examples, only saying nice, wonderful, warm and fuzzy things, hoping that people will come to Jesus for salvation! We must do what Jesus Himself and the apostles did; WARN people of the “wrath to come!”

 

Paul instructs Timothy that “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness…Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage…For the time will come when men will not endure sound doctrine. Instead to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from truth and turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 3:16, 4:2-4).

 

What were the itching ears of early LDS leaders wanting to hear? That they could become gods? That they could have dozens of wives on earth and maybe even more in eternity? That their priesthood power could increase and the greater the priesthood the more wives they would get? Even PAYING tithing is both “fire insurance” and necessary to get into the Celestial Kingdom. That’s pretty much money, sex, and power. Their itching ears turned to myths; “God was once a man. God had a father who had a father who had a father. God and Jesus are polygamists. Jesus was married with children….” The myths could go on and on.

 

If you look at the ministries of Jesus, Paul, John the Baptist, and others, they were pretty much bottom-line type of people. They did not mince words. They called a spade a spade. At least I am not insulting your god like Elijah insulted the prophets of Baal (Elijah taunted them, “What’s wrong? Maybe your god is deaf? Maybe he is asleep?” 1 Kings 18:27). I’m not calling Mormons “a brood of vipers,” “hypocrites,” “sons of the devil,” or other choice names that Jesus called those who were leading others away from truth and salvation. Jesus publicly humiliated the false teachers. He didn’t spend His time having friendly discussions and dialogues with the Pharisees and Sadducees. He didn’t tell His disciples, “Now let’s be careful not offend anyone. We better not tell them they are serving false gods. We need to just be nice and kind and make sure everyone feels good about themselves. Let’s not knock anyone’s beliefs.” God forbid! Jesus, Paul, Elijah, Peter, Jude, and others rocked their known world; shaking things up and turning things upside down because the consequence of not believing truth was eternal damnation!

 

I have a website because I care. It moves me deeply that people are lost. The thought of people being eternally separated from God pierces me through and through. When I was a Mormon there were a few Christians who tried to talk to me about biblical truth. They were SO mild mannered and non-confrontational that what they said went in one ear and out the other. I sat smiling, all the while thinking, “Oh these poor misguided souls.” They did not say anything negative about Mormonism and I just went on my merry way in ignorant bliss. Then one day I came across some paper that someone had written telling about some things wrong with Mormonism, and I got mad. So mad, in fact, that I set out to prove this person wrong. I looked up the outrageous things he wrote; things he claimed Brigham Young and other LDS leaders taught. I wanted to expose this man for writing what I thought were lies (for example, Christ’s atonement not covering all sins or that Adam is the only God we worship). To my shock I found out that this man was not writing lies about Mormonism! He was speaking the truth.

 

All I’m saying is that sometimes it takes a bold approach to preach the gospel. As I said before, if Mormonism is true, then people will have chance to hear and accept it after they die. But if it is not (and obviously I believe it is not), people have to accept Jesus of the Bible in THIS life or they will be lost forever. There is not time to pussy-foot around. There is an urgency to spread the true gospel, which is the blessed message that Christ came in the flesh, died, was buried, and rose three days later and that we can have life in Him and Him alone. Jesus did not come to make bad men good; He came to make dead men live!

 

E___, I appreciate you writing to me. I appreciate your frankness about what you believe and the respectful tone of your writing. You are a credit to your religion. I hope I have not come across as rude or obnoxious because that is certainly not my intent. I think in person you would find me to be very warm and personable, as I’m sure you are. I imagine you will still disagree with what I wrote, but I urge you to look at the facts; be a “fruit inspector” in regard to doctrinal issues. With a little study you will find that the Bible has indeed been translated correctly and is all that we need. Nothing or no one can put us in right-standing before God Almighty except for Jesus Christ; not our works, not our good efforts, and not another gospel. It is only Jesus. It’s all about Jesus. Jesus, Who is God incarnate, not our older spirit brother. I trust the gospel of Jesus Christ, not the gospel of Joseph Smith. You are so right that we cannot “convert” anyone. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. People could show me all the evidence they wanted that Mormonism was not true, but until I was ready to accept even the possibility that I was wrong, the Holy Spirit could not convict me. There came a time when all I wanted was God and truth, even if it meant I accepting had been wrong. I only sought the Lord; I only sought truth. Have you read my testimony? It is on our website.

 

I was sincere when I said if you can show me any false information on my website I would gladly take it off. My intent is not to misrepresent Mormonism; it is only to lay out the differences between Mormonism and biblical Christianity so people can make an informed decision.

 

Take care and please keep in touch. I really do care.

 

Tracy

 

 

 

 

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