The Lamb of God – The Mormon Story at Easter

The Lamb of God is the Mormon Church's video presentation of the Easter story. Once again this video has been finding its way into thousands of homes across the country, usually accompanied by a pair of missionaries. It is usually preceded, at Christmas, by a short video entitled The Nativity, depicting the birth of Jesus. The Nativity is simply a visual presentation of the Christmas story with very little dialogue, and that in Aramaic/Hebrew. It is more an animated tableau depicting successive familiar scenes from Luke 2. But then what more could you expect from a film barely 12 minutes long?

The tableau format is carried over into the 27 minute long The Lamb of God. Beginning with Jesus' appearance before Pilate it is a presentation of the last few hours of His life, interspersed with retrospective scenes from His last week and a couple of brief scenes from the Christmas video. The dialogue is sparse, a few brief phrases at the last supper "Do this in remembrance of me," and brief exchanges between Jesus and Pilate, familiar phrases given in the inevitable King James English - "Art thou the King of the Jews?" "My kingdom is not of this world." "Art thou a king then?" "For this purpose came I into this world." "I find no fault with this man!" "Shall I crucify your king?"

There is the inevitable "Crucify Him!" from the crowd and the rest is simply a background noise of Aramaic/Hebrew. From the cross you hear "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit," then "It is finished." We see the anger of the crowds, the sorrow of the disciples and the hasty burial. Then the discovery of the empty tomb by Mary, and Peter and John racing to see for themselves. It finishes with a depiction in silhouette of the pair telling shepherds on a hill and a visual presentation of John 3:16.

This is a moving and heart-warming film. It is comforting and reassuring in its familiarity, well produced and quite accurate to the King James account. An Evangelical Christian viewing it for the purpose of finding arguments against the Mormon Church would be disappointed. There is nothing doctrinally wrong with it and it would serve well as a starting point for a gospel discussion. But that is because there is nothing doctrinal in it. If asked to write this video the average Christian would be hard pressed to decide what to leave out of a film depicting such a significant week in the history of the world. Yet, this 27-minute video is totally devoid of teaching or indeed structured storytelling - either Christian or Mormon.

It is a 27 minute "virtual" tableau leading up to the most important message in the whole video - the last words on the screen: This is a presentation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is a type of iconography, designed to give an impression, a representation by means of images. An impression of what? An impression of Christianity. An Evangelical Christian watching this video would be hard pressed to fault it. Someone unfamiliar with the Christian message would learn precious little about Christianity - or Mormonism, and that is the point of the film. You will inevitably think that it is a "Christian" film produced by a "Christian" church.

We showed it to a group of Christian friends and asked for their comments. One expressed real surprise that it actually "told the gospel." However, it does not tell the gospel at all, either the Christian gospel or the Mormon gospel. Read the rest of this article here

Mormon Christians? Whats in a Name?

The Mormon Church, disturbed by the continuing identifying of polygamus sects in the news with the name Mormon, recently issued a press statement aimed at "clarifying" issues. It is interesting to note that if you substitute the name "Christian" where they use the name "Mormon" it makes a very good argument for us against the claims of the Mormon Church. The full press release is reproduced below in italics with each paragraph rewritten in ordinary text to present it from a Christian perspective. SALT LAKE CITY 10 July 2008 On 26 June, Newsroom published a package of information featuring profiles of ordinary Latter-day Saints in Texas. With no other intention but to define themselves, these members provided a tangible depiction of what their faith is all about. They serve as the best distinction between the lifestyles and values of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a Texas-based polygamous group that has recently attracted media attent...

Obama's mother posthumously baptized into LDS Church - Salt Lake Tribune

In the wake of his remarkable success it seemed that the world and his wife wanted to claim President Obama as their own with even an Irish connection being dug up. Now the Mormons have got in on the act by posthumously baptising his mother. They have in the past upset the Jewish community, the Catholic Church and now the American President with this wacky and unbiblical practice but there is no indication that they will review it. And, of course, it is always someone else’s fault and they promise a thorough inquiry to uncover the real culprits. Maybe they should try looking in the mirror. President Barack Obama's mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, who died in 1995, was baptized posthumously into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints last year during her son's campaign, according to Salt Lake City-based researcher Helen Radkey. The ritual, known as “baptism for the dead,” was done June 4 in the Provo temple, and another LDS temple rite, known as the “endowment,” was...

Is atheism an intolerant belief?

The Big Questions , Sunday 2 August 2009, third question. A growing number of Britons say they are certain there is no God - but how do they know? Professor John Adams of the North Yorkshire Humanist Association begins by asking theists what evidence they have for their beliefs. Paul Woolley of Theos continues by pointing out Richard Dawkins description of faith as a 'virus', and the appalling track record of atheism in the 20th Century, as spearheaded by Pol Pot and Stalin. Chloe Clifford-Frith of the Humanist and Secular Students Society contends that Stalin did not do the things he did because he was an atheist, but because he was evil. Paul Woolley rejoins that atheists are trying to have it both ways when they claim that religion is the cause of evil, but refuse to acknowledge the ideological impetus of atheism when it comes to many evil acts. Mao and Stalin both replaced God with the State - a 'religious' manoeuvre. Rev Alistair Rycroft of St Michael Le Belfrey Ch...

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