In the Garden

The season is approaching where everyone who believes in Jesus will focus on how He suffered, bled, died, and was resurrected.
There is a fundamental difference between Christians and Mormons on Christs atonement for our sins. Mormons believe that it was in the Garden of Gethsemane where the atonement took place. They also say that it was in the garden where the original sin was wiped out and where Christ suffered so much that His sweat was blood. The garden was a place of prayer and solitude for our Savior. He communed with the Father there often. It was the logical destination for the most agonizing plea for help from our Savior to the Father.
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*Mormon quotes are in black and Christian quotes are in red.
"In Gethsemane the best among us vicariously became the worst among us and suffered the very depths of hell. And as one who was guilty, the Savior experienced for the first time in his life the loss of the Spirit of God and of communion with his Father.
There was for him no support, no help-neither from his friends who slept through his agony, nor from the Spirit of God, which departed from him. No one has ever been as alone as Christ in the Garden." (Believing Christ, Deseret Book, Stephen E. Robinson, pg. 119)
Christ was not alone in the Garden for long---"An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him." (Luke 22:43)
"...Jesus took upon himself the infinite weight of the sins and sorrows of the world and was pressed with that tremendous load until the blood flowed through his skin. Just as olives and grapes are squeezed in the press, so Jesus, the true vine, was squeezed on Gethsemane, "the press," until his richness, his juice, his oil, his blood, was shed for humanity. No wonder that the wine of the Last Supper and of the Christian sacrament is such a fitting symbol for the blood of Christ [Mormons don't use wine.] -they are obtained by the same process. (Believing Christ, Deseret Book, Stephen E. Robinson, pg. 119&120, emphasis and brackets added)
"Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit-and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink-" (Doctrine and Covenants 19:18)
The sweat was "as if" it was blood, not real blood. "And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground." (Luke 22:44, emphasis added)
The LDS believe that the death of Jesus made it possible for all persons to be resurrected. They believe that wiping out the sin, or transgression, as they prefer to say, of Adam and that through grace all men will be resurrected, were the only purposes for Christ on this earth. The LDS do not believe that Jesus Christ can give grace freely for any other reason.
"...one of the untrue doctrines found in modern Christendom is the concept that man can gain salvation (meaning the kingdom of God) by grace alone and without obedience." (Gospel Doctrine, Bookcraft, Bruce R. McConkie, pg. 671)
"and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:24)
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The Garden of Gethsemane, in truth, was where Christ communed with the Father. Jesus knew that His time had come to redeem and become a ransom for the sin that entered into the world. It was the time at the cross where Christ finished His work. He even said so. The blood of Jesus was spilled out as a sacrificial lamb. No animal or human could do what Christ did. It was at the cross, not at the garden, where the laws and ordnances were fulfilled. "...He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." (Colossians 2:13-15)
The Mormons who think that their "Savior" has the same role as the "Savior" of the Bible need to study the Bible again. Please don't study the Bible that Joseph Smith put together. That's not an accurate account. Get one that is approved by the Christian faith. Read it carefully so you can make a clear, knowledgeable decision as to what the truth is.

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About Me

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Michigan, United States
I spent a lot of time deciding if I should write this blog or not. I'm not a great writer and I'm not going to pretend to be. I need to share what I have learned and I might not make some people happy with what I am saying. This blog is a way for me to release the thoughts and feelings that come with knowing I grew up in the wrong religion. A healing process if you will.

How To Read This Blog

Please start with the month of February 2007 and read backwards. This is the most effective way to understand, in order, why I say what I do.

Handmaidens Creed

1.I believe in God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit as one God without beginning or end.
2.I believe the Bible to be the Holy Inspired word of God with full truth and righteousness. No other writing is.
3.I believe that the work of the Lord comes first. Before any temporal thing or person.
4.I believe that grace is a gift and Christ gives that gift freely to all who believe.
5.I believe that the beauty of a woman is contained inside of her and not by what she looks like on the outside.
6.I believe that marriage is sacred and represents the Godhead on earth; two are one just as three are one.
7.I believe that love is more powerful than any other power. Remember, God is love.
8.I believe that tithing is not a part of God's new covenant, free will offerings are. And that doesn't mean just money.
9.I believe that the Aaronic, Levitical, and Melchizedek priesthoods are abolished and Christs Holy Priesthood whom Christ is the "Great High Priest" is eternal.
10.I believe that every believer is a priest in the "Priesthood of Believers".
11.I believe that when two are one, nobody is to separate the one.
12.I believe that Christ is the only way to heaven.
13.I believe that our bodies are temples, not man made buildings.
14.I believe that liars make fools out of others and the liar hates the fool.
15.I believe that all believers are in authority to preach the gospel.
16.I believe that the word 'organization' to describe Christs body is evil and has no place with God.
17.I believe the Americas are not the land of Zion and Christ will return to His origonal land-Israel in the Middle East.
18.I believe that God has set out correct ways of worshiping Him, not man.
19.I believe in holding to the truths of the Bible and not mans understanding of it.
20.I believe that the world is full of evil and Satan can easily gain control over the minds of those who do not profess Christ of the Bible to be their only Messiah.
21.I believe that Saints are those who know the real Savior, Jesus Christ, of whom the Bible speaks of; not the jesus of a cult.