Last time I began to consider an article entitled I "Hear Him" by Aligning My Mind with His
Will[1], by Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles.
Elder Soares
claimed that he hears from God via four primary means. In part 1 of this
article, I reflected on the first two ‘I hear Him by aligning my mind
with Him’ and I hear Him through the Book of Mormon’. I will now consider his
third point and next week conclude with his fourth.
I Hear Him by Making Commitments to the Lord
In putting my faith
in the Lord’s promises and His gospel, I have made commitments to love Jesus
Christ above anything else, to forego the things that were not good in my life,
and to respect God’s commandments. Fulfilling those commitments requires
constant dedication, and I have learned that I can become more like Christ,
walk in His light, and reduce the influence of evil over my life. This has
helped to increase my spiritual sensibility, and my willingness to hear Him and
understand His voice has been expanded. By accepting the Savior’s invitation to
follow Him, I am submitting to the will of the Lord. I can say with certainty
that this has helped me to develop a greater ability to listen to the Lord and
to follow Him.
As I have commented before, Mormons
speak Christianese but interpret things in Mormonese. Therefore, it is possible
for Christians to sincerely read the quote above and declare there is nothing
to see here – but they would be sincerely wrong.
When Elder Soares says that he puts his
‘faith in the Lord’s promises and His gospel’, what does he mean? As a
Mormon, the Lord’s promises and his gospel come not from the Bible alone, but
from a range of sources which are seen by them as authoritative.[2]
When Bible believing Christians hear the
word gospel our minds may turn to 1 Corinthians 15:1-4:
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the
gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you
stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the
word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered to you as of first
importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in
accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was
raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures…
Here the Apostle
Paul clearly spells out to the church at Corinth the content and simplicity of
the gospel. He says that, according to the Scriptures, Christ died for our sins
and that he was buried rising again on the third day, and it is this gospel
that saves.
Sadly, this is not
the gospel of Mormonism. The gospel in which Elder Soares claims to put his
faith is far more convoluted, you might even say impossible.
The
Impossible Gospel
“Wherefore teach
it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in
nowise inherit the kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or
dwell in his presence...” (Moses 6:57).
Calling people to repentance is thoroughly biblical, but in Mormonism
repentance has a particular definition:
“By this ye may
know if a man repenteth of his sins—behold, he will confess them
and forsake them” (Doctrine & Covenants 58:43).
“...go your ways
and sin no more; but unto that soul who sinneth shall the former sins
return, saith the Lord your God” (Doctrine & Covenants 82:7).
Mormonism teaches that true repentance is not only the confessing of
sin, but also a determination to never repeat that sin. If a Mormon relapses
and commits the sin again, then all former sin will return upon him. In other
words, Mormons believe that progression towards exaltation requires sinless
perfection.
Be Ye Perfect.
The twelve president of the LDS Church, Spencer W. Kimball acknowledges
this and said:
“The forsaking of sin must be a permanent one. True repentance does not
permit making the same mistake again.” If you repeat a sin, all of your
“former sins return.”[3]
Kimball further reveals the extent
of the gospel of which Elder Soares speaks:
‘Repentance must
involve an all-out, total surrender to the program of the Lord. That transgressor
is not fully repentant who neglects his tithing, misses his meetings,
breaks the Sabbath, fails in his family prayers, does not sustain the
authorities of the Church, breaks the Word of Wisdom, does not love the
Lord nor his fellowmen. A reforming adulterer who drinks or curses is
not repentant. The repenting burglar who has sex play is not
ready for forgiveness. God cannot forgive unless the transgressor
shows a true repentance which spreads to all areas of his life.’[4]
We notice here the
particulars of the Mormon gospel. True repentance includes tithing, attendance
at meetings, not having tea/coffee, submission to Mormon leadership and
adherence to all the laws and ordinances given by the Church.
My Burden is Light.
Cults always place a
heavy burden on their adherents, whereas Jesus offers rest to all who would
come to Him.
“Come
to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from
me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for
your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden
is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
Elder Soares, along
with countless other Mormons are striving hard to attain that which Christ
bought for them and offers freely.
Friends we are
sinners in need of grace and that grace is available through the shed blood of
Christ on the cross of Calvary. We do sin, and will sin repetitively, because
we are fallen, but we cannot out-sin God’s forgiveness.
If we confess our
sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
O that the eyes of
those seeking to earn their way to Heavenly Father would be opened to see the
glorious gospel of Biblical Christianity.
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