Skip to main content

THE TRUTH ABOUT MORMONISM – S IS FOR SPIRIT

Image
By

 


Now, I had a fight with a missionary companion once because he said that Latter-day Saints are the only ones who can feel the Spirit. And I said, “nu-uh”, and he said, “uh-huh”, and I said, “nu-uh”, and he said, “uh-huh”, and I said, “nu-uh”, and that’s how missionaries fight.

And I said, “Look, if they can’t feel the Spirit, what do they feel on Christmas Eve when they’re singing Silent Night, and the little kids are all dressed in bathrobes doing the manger scene? What do they feel?” He says, “The spirit of the devil”. I said, “No! You can’t feel the spirit of the devil when little kids are dressed in bathrobes! You can’t feel the little spirit of the devil when they’re singing ‘Silent Night’!”

I really enjoy watching nature programmes. God’s creation is amazing. Recently, my son invited me to see an event called Planet Earth II Live. It was amazing. Along with a couple of thousand people, we watched clips from Planet Earth II on a massive screen and there, to play alongside the action, was a live Philharmonic Orchestra. It was truly spectacular, and I was genuinely moved. But at no point did I believe that what I felt was generated by the presence of the Holy Spirit. You see it is possible to feel moved, warmed, cheered etc. by a whole host of things.

Just as people may ‘feel’ something when they sing Silent Night, and see little kids in a nativity scene, so Mormons may ‘feel’ something, when they pray, go to the Temple, or read the Book of Mormon. None of these so-called ‘feelings’ prove that the Holy Spirit is at work in their lives. Feelings can come from a variety of sources.

The Spirit of Truth

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:15-17)

Jesus promised his disciples that He would send them a helper, whom He called the ‘Spirit of truth’. Now here is my question to Brad. Does the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teach truth? Of course, he would say yes, but when Mormon teaching is tested against historic, orthodox Christianity, the answer is clearly ‘no’. Therefore, whatever Mormons ‘feel’ it is not the Spirit of truth. For He leads into all truth. (John 16:13)

Notice also that Jesus said that ‘the world cannot receive him, because it neither sees him nor knows him’. I would suggest then that whatever the non-LDS Silent Night singers are feeling, is also not the Spirit of truth, unless of course they are born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

If they are not feeling the Spirit, then what are they feeling? I would suggest it is either a human feeling which arises in the heart often caused by an external event (like hearing a Philharmonic Orchestra) or the perhaps the devil. Now, I’m sure Brad would want to say to me ‘nu-huh’ but I would return a ‘uh-huh’.

The Holy Spirit and The Holy Ghost

What my companion was trying to say is that we do have something that sets us apart, but it’s not the Spirit. Muslims feel the Spirit. Hindus feel the Spirit. Jews feel the Spirit. Catholics feel the Spirit. The Spirit will come and go in their lives. What we have that they don’t have is the gift of the Holy Ghost, and that’s the chance to have the Spirit with you always.

Here is where it gets confusing. Brad, being true to Mormonism, seeks to separate the Spirit and the Holy Ghost. The Greek word ‘pneuma’ can be translated either as spirit or ghost, hence older versions of the Bible have the ‘Holy Ghost’ and newer versions speak of the ‘Holy Spirit’. But they both speak of one and the same person, the third person of the Holy Trinity. They are not separate entities.

In suggesting that non-LDS can feel the Spirit, but only Mormons can receive the Holy Ghost, Brad once again seeks to impress upon the impressionable youth, that what the LDS church offers is far superior to what is on offer on the outside. But he is wrong. What true Biblical Christianity has is far greater. The Holy Spirit is for those who truly believe, and He gives assurance to all those who truly belong to Jesus.

And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. (2 Corinthians 2:21-22)

I Got a Feeling

Brad went on to say to liken the Holy Spirit to an inflated balloon. He said a balloon can either let out the air within it or have a knot tied in the end of it to keep the air in. He said that baptism in the LDS church is like having a knot tied. Baptism means that you now have the gift of the Holy Ghost sealed within you and it cannot escape.

He then sought to address what he believed would be the come back to his analogy’ ‘but Brad, I have never felt the spirit’. He said:  

“I’ve never felt the spirit.”? No, of course you felt the Spirit. Steven Covey used to tell students at BYU when they’d say, “I’ve never felt the Spirit”, he’d say, “You’re like a fish – you’re swimming around in the water, and you’re going, ‘Water? What water? I don’t see any water.'” When does the fish notice the water? When he’s out of the water. And then he goes, “Whoa, I was in the water all the time”.

Sometimes that’s what has to happen with young Latter-day Saints; they have to do something stupid. Distance themselves from the spirit. And then they say, “I was feeling it all the time. I just didn’t recognize it”.

Notice here that Brad implants in their minds that to leave the Mormon church is to distance themselves from the spirit. The spirit is in the ‘Mormon’ water, and just as a fish cannot survive outside of the water, so these young Mormons cannot survive if they leave the LDS faith.

But many have left the Mormon water and have not only survived, but they have also flourished. They have found living water, water that wells up into eternal life (John 4:13-15). They have a testimony of the Spirit of truth at work in their life outside of the Mormon bubble. And they have found that the Spirit has given them comfort, joy, peace an assurance. To listen to such a testimony, click here. 


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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

By
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...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mormon Christians? Whats in a Name?

By
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...
70 comments
Read more

Is atheism an intolerant belief?

By
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...
18 comments
Read more