I appreciate you taking the time to write me. I’m sure you hold your beliefs near and dear and have a desire to stand up for what you believe is true. Jesus said he prefers one to be either hot or cold, rather than lukewarm (Rev. 3:16). It is good that you are not lukewarm about your beliefs; sadly, too many people are. You obviously have some strong feelings about Christian beliefs and teachings. Unfortunately, the same Church that lied to you about LDS history and doctrines also lied to you about Christian theology. The Biblical view of heaven and hell makes perfect sense when one understands it.
I don’t understand what you meant when you wrote, “your ‘ABOMINATION’ theology makes void the Atonement of Christ and the doctrine of Repentance.” What is “abomination theology?” Nothing can make the atonement of Christ void, as LDS doctrines suggest. Consider the following statement by Joseph Smith;
“If a man commit adultery, he cannot receive the Celestial Kingdom of God. Even if he is saved in any kingdom, it cannot be the Celestial Kingdom” (Documentary History of the Church, Vol. 6, p. 81).
Alma 11:37 says that Christ cannot save us in our sins. Brigham Young taught that the atonement does not cover all sins. Gospel Principles, pp. 68-69, says that “Christ’s atonement makes it possible to be saved from sin if we do our part.” President Spencer W. Kimball taught that forgiveness, in other words the atonement, is only good for as long as a person keeps all the LDS commandments;
Repentance must involve an all-out, total surrender to the program of the Lord (emphasis mine). 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 (The Miracle of Forgiveness, 1969, p. 203).
LDS doctrine also states that if a person commits a particular sin after repenting, all the former sins return and is held against him. It seems to me that it’s the Mormon Church that makes void the Atonement and doctrine of repentance. God of the Bible forgives completely and unconditionally.
1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
(Psalm 103:11-12) For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. ??As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.?
(Colossians 2:13-14) And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;? Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;?
(Hebrews 8:10) For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.?
There are many more references to forgiveness in the Bible, but these are just a few that demonstrates how great the God of the Bible is. According to the Mormon gospel, unless you are constantly striving for perfection and living up to all the commandments, Christ’s Atonement cannot cover you and get you to the Celestial Kingdom. What Robert Millet says about salvation does not matter. He is not a General Authority and his views do not constitute official LDS doctrine. The Mormon gospel says that Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, and the vilest child-rapist murderers will get a kingdom of glory in the end; but “apostates” like me will be consigned to outer darkness. And you accused MY God of not being loving?
The following questions are just for your own consideration; I’m not asking you to give me the answers. Have you done everything Prophet Kimball said is required of you?
Are you a faithful tithe-payer or do you hold back a little to pay the bills?
Do you attend all your meetings faithfully, week in and week out, or do you skip Church when you’re not feeling up to it?
Do you keep the Sabbath? That means no buying of gasoline, no running up to the store because you forgot to buy milk on Saturday, no watching TV or videos for entertainment, etc. Sundays are to be for writing in your journal, visiting the sick, and studying the gospel: even dinner is to be simple on Sunday, with no elaborate preparation.
Do you hold family prayer twice a day? President Benson, speaking in General Conference in May of 1978, told members to “pray in their homes morning and evening.” Do you do as he taught? He was speaking for “the Lord,” you know.
What about the Word of Wisdom? Do you refrain from caffeine colas? President Hinckley stated in a 60-minutes interview that good Latter-day Saints refrain from caffeine sodas as part of the Word of Wisdom. Are you eating meat sparingly, only in times of famine or winter? What about grains---are you refraining from corn, oats, and rye? “Nevertheless, wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for the fowls and for swine, and for all beasts of the field.” (D&C 89:17).
Do you sustain the authorities of the Church and not murmur against them? That means not complaining about anything your Bishop asks of you. Have you turned down any callings? Because turning down a calling is like saying no to the Lord.
Are you having as many children as you can, not limiting the size of your family for selfish or personal reasons? You understand that if you are able to have more children and you don’t, you are sending those spirits into the homes of the wicked.
Are you preparing yourself to live the law of polygamy in the future? The Church has taught there will be a “restitution of all things,” which includes polygamy. Even if it does not take place on this earth during the millennium, you will be required to live it in order to dwell in the Celestial Kingdom (see D&C 132). Your “loving God” will destroy you if you don’t;
And again, verily, verily, I say unto you, if any man have a wife, who holds the keys of this power, and he teaches unto her the law of my priesthood, as pertaining to these things, then shall she believe and administer unto him, or she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord your God; for I will destroy her; for I will magnify my name upon all those who receive and abide in my law (D&C 132:64).
You wrote: “For you the choice is heaven or hell, and either choice you make is made from fear and ignorance.” You presume to know Christians and their motivations without any real understanding of Christianity. Are you saying that there is no fear associated with Mormonism? How many members do you suppose pay their tithing as “fire insurance” so they are not burned at the last day? How many members attend the temple or do their visiting and home teaching out of obligation or out of fear of not making it to the Celestial Kingdom? How many Mormons are afraid to examine the Church’s history and teachings because they might lose their testimonies? How many members are afraid of the End Times and the Tribulation? How many Mormons don’t have the “assurance of their salvation,” but worry from day to day whether they are worthy enough to go to the Celestial Kingdom when they die? How many LDS mothers are on anti-depressants or are beside themselves with despair over a child or children who are on drugs or involved in necking or petting or worse, because they might not make it to the Celestial Kingdom?
I can tell you from experience as a Spiritual Living leader in the Relief Society for six years and as a Relief Society president for one year that there are many dear, sweet sisters whose lives are controlled by fear.
You made reference to the fear of Hell as if it were wrong or sadistic. Are you a parent? What loving father doesn’t warn his child that if she runs out into the road she will be hit by a car? Or tells her that touching a hot stove will burn her? Because God loves us, He warns us what will happen if we do not come to Him for salvation. I took a trip on a cruise ship once and the captain ordered a drill. Everyone was required to put on life jackets, line up in a certain order in front of the lifeboats, and listen to instructions on what to do in case the ship sank and we found ourselves in cold, murky water. No one accused the captain of being sadistic. No one asked him why he was trying to scare us. Well, God is the Captain of the universe. He is telling us to put on the life-jacket of Jesus Christ so in the event of death, we will not die spiritually. That is not sadistic at all.
Jesus said, “For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case inherit the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20).
The prophet Isaiah said, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Isaiah 64:6). The original Hebrew, which the King James translators translated as “filthy rags,” is “used menstrual cloths.”
“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God?” (Hebrews 10:31)
“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin” (Romans 3:19-20).
With all the requirements of the Mormon gospel, do you think you are good enough to go to the Celestial Kingdom? When we become aware of the absolute holiness and perfection of God, we realize that we can never be worthy on our own.
The first of the Ten Commandments says, “You shall not have other gods before me.” Have you always put God first in your life? Jesus said to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength---so much that your love for your family, friends, and even your own life seems like hatred compared to your devotion to God. Have you ever failed to put Him first?
You shall not make for yourself any idol. Who is God to you? Is he only a god of love and mercy who would never cast anyone into Hell? If so, you are right. Your god couldn’t cast anyone into hell because he doesn’t exist. He is a figment of Joseph Smith’s imagination. The LDS Church created a god that it was more comfortable with. You may call it your personal belief, but God calls it “idolatry.” It’s the oldest sin in the book and the Bible warns that idolaters will not inherit the kingdom of heaven.
Another commandment says, Thou shalt not bear false witness. If you’ve ever told a lie, it makes you a liar. How many murders does a person have to commit to be a murderer? Only one. Only one lie would make a person a liar. The Bible warns that all liars will have their part in the Lake of Fire.
Thou shalt not steal. If you’ve ever taken anything that did not belong to you, no matter how small, it makes you a thief.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. The Bible says, “God will not hold him guiltless who takes the name of the Lord in vain.”
The seventh commandment states, Thou shalt not commit adultery. Jesus said that whoever looks on a person with lust has committed adultery in their heart. That includes impure thoughts about handsome actors in movies. The Bible says that adulterers and fornicators will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus said that if we are angry with someone without cause, we are in danger of the judgment.
What about honoring your father and mother? Were you ever disobedient to them or sassed back to them?
Thou shalt not covet means we are not to desire anything that belongs to someone else.
Can any of us say we are not guilty of breaking the commandments? The Bible says, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)
Does the fact that you have sinned against God scare you? It should, because if God were to judge you by His standards, you---like me and everyone else--- would be guilty on every count!
Perhaps you think God is good, and because of His goodness He will overlook your sins. But if you knew of a human judge who turned a blind eye to the crimes of a guilty rapist or child molester, would you describe him as a “good judge?” No, that would be a corrupt judge. God could never be a corrupt judge. He must be just or He would not be good.
Scripture warns all of mankind the fate that awaits the ungodly. Yet, God in His infinite patience, has withheld His judgment so that all who might be saved would come to Him, for “God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). So He provided a way for us to be forgiven. He has invited us to come to Him for a full pardon and receive the free gift of Eternal Life. We cannot earn it, we don’t deserve it, but God is offering it to us as proof of His love for us.
The Bible says the God of the Universe became a man (Jesus Christ), and suffered and died on the cross for your sins and mine so that we could be set free.
God demonstrated His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us (Galatians 3:13).
When I saw myself as a sinner deserving Hell, and saw the glorious gift that God extended me through Jesus Christ, I loved Him! We love Him, because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). What an awesome God! To think that He loved me enough to die for me, even though I was a sinner! I worship Him and serve Him, not out of fear, but out of love! I DO love God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength. He has given me the peace that passes all understanding and unsurpassed joy. Everyday I have a little smile inside my heart because I know I'm going to heaven. I know my standing before God. That is hardly “a dismal view.”
At least you are honest enough to admit that Mormons worship a different god than Christians do. The Mormon Jesus requires people to clean up their lives before they come to him. Jesus of the Bible says “Come as you are and I will clean you up.”
The Mormon Jesus says you must keep the commandments to be forgiven. The Bible says of Jesus, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
The Mormon Jesus requires obedience to every commandment set forth by the Church. Jesus of the Bible says, “Come, all ye that are heavy laden and I will give you rest.”
The Mormon Jesus cannot save us in our sins. Jesus of the Bible says that while we were yet sinners, He died for us.
Two thousand years ago, God sent a love letter to us. It was written in blood upon a wooden cross. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18). I am pleading with you; don’t be among those who perish. Turn to the true Christ and live. You are welcome to your Mormon Jesus and your god, but I truly hope and pray you choose Jesus of the Bible. I was once a blasphemer too, making fun of Christian beliefs. I am so grateful, so thankful God did not reject me, but brought me to His saving truth. He will do the same for you. I will be praying for you.
Tracy
