A Joe Moment

God an Exalted Man (???)

"God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Deseret Book Company, pg. 345)

Nowhere in the Bible does it say that God is or was an exalted man!
This is what the Bible has to say:
"God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." (John 4:24)

"This is what the Lord says-Israels King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God." (Isaiah 44:6)

"Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one." (Isaiah 44:8)

"Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me." (Isaiah 43:10)

"...for I am God, and there is no other." (Isaiah 45:22)

"The Lord is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King." (Jeremiah 10:10)

"You were shown these things [God speaking out of fire, taking one nation out of another nation, testings, miraculous signs, wonders,...] so that you might know that the Lord is God: besides him there is no other." (Deuteronomy 4:35, brackets added)

Jesus Christ is our deity.
"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority." (Colossians 2:9&10)

A Joe Moment

Excerpts from a Sermon by President Joseph Smith

"Christ was the head of the Church, the chief corner stone, the spiritual rock upon which the church was built,..."
( Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Deseret Book, pg. 318)

Was...., I think not. More like, IS!!!!!!

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8)
"...Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior." (Ephesians 5:12)
"Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal." (Isaiah 26:4)
There are many more Bible references that point to our Lord who IS our chief cornerstone and always will be throughout eternity. Christ is not past tense.
*Ps 118:22
*Mt 21:42
*Mk 12:10
*Ac 4:11
*1 Peter 2:4
*Eph 2:19-21
*Isiah 17:10
*And so many more....

Mormon Women, Prozac, and Therapy

*The title above is linked to a report put out by Kent Ponder, Ph.D. in 2003. Please click on the link to read the full story. Anyone who needs to know the truth about how damaging Mormonism is, take the time to read it.

When I was a Mormon I experienced the depression that went along with the duties of being an LDS woman. I was on Prozac myself, I had the therapy, both Mormon therapists and non-Mormon therapists. Nothing worked or helped. I became even more depressed as time went on.

The paper mentioned above, hits the subject on the the head. It doesn't matter if a woman is born and raised in the church, or converted, the stress of perfect conformity is crushing for both. My life revolved around those who were in "authority." Because of this, my life became a mess and I didn't have the skills to mentally understand how I could escape this cult that had done so much damage. Just like my teenage years at home with my parents, I didn't know anything about self preservation or truth. Both of which were not in my personal mental dictionary at the time.

I encourage all to read this report that is in the link, especially those who are suffering for perfection.

Feelings, Nothing More Than Feelings

Feelings are a peculiar set of emotions that have a unique way of transforming all thoughts into action, reaction or inaction. Most often than not, feelings are subjective or personal, and most of what we believe is a result of feelings. The outcome from any information taken in is controlled solely by the thought process in the brain. There is not one single feeling that gives an automatic response, good or bad, and is uncontrollable.
All feelings can be easily seduced and misled by preying spirits that seek out the destruction of our spirits. Those evil spirits, as well as Satan, who himself can masquerade as an angel of light, deceives unwary people into feeling that something is truth when it's a lie.

To be preoccupied with our personal feelings is selfish, and is dangerously wrong.

"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." (1 John 4:1)

When it comes to the Book of Mormon, people are told to 'feel' the truthfulness of it. If that 'feeling' didn't come, those people are admonished to pray again, only this time, pray harder "with a sincere heart" (Moroni 10:4), and you will get the correct outcome, or feeling. How are Mormons instructed to tell themselves about the 'truthfulness' of their feelings? "The burning in the bosom" if it is true and "A stupor of thought" if it is false. I don't remember how many times, when I was a Mormon stake missionary that I used those two phrases, burning in the bosom and stupor of thought, on those who were searching for the truth. I was wrong in doing that.

As a Christian, we are to "test" the spirits to "prove" all things.

Here is a list of Bible references to help with knowing the truthfulness of a spirit or a prophet is from God:
*1 John 4:1
*1 Timothy 6:3-4
*2 Corinthians 13:5
*Revelation 2:2
*1 Thessalonians 5:21
*1 Corinthians 15:1-8
*Galatians 1:6-8
*2 Corinthians 11:4
*Jeremiah 23:16
*Deuteronomy 13:1-5
*Deuteronomy 18:22
*Acts 17:11

It is not Biblical to pray about the Book of Mormon as the Mormons teach you to do. If you gained a testimony about the Book of Mormon, you should sit down, grab a Bible and read the scripture references above to know if you have been deceived by preying spirits.

"Why should subjective feelings be suspected? Because we are sinful creatures and can be swayed by our emotions and sinful desires:
* "The heart of man is desperately wicked and cannot be trusted." (Jeremiah 17:9)
* "There is a way that seems right to man, but the end is death." (Proverbs 14:12)"
(www.leaderu.com/offices/michealdavis/docs/mormonism/feelings/html)

"The peril is real.To become preoccupied with inner feelings is dangerous and wrong in this age in which we are called to "walk by faith, not by sight." (Life In The Son, Robert Shank, Westcott Publishers, 1982, pg. 304)

A Joe Moment

False Reports

"What is it that inspires professors of Christianity generally with a hope of salvation? It is that smooth sophisticated influence of the devil, by which he deceives the whole world."

(Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 270)

A Joe Moment

The Immortal Spirit

"...I might with boldness proclaim from the house-tops that God never had the power to create the spirit of man at all. God himself could not create himself."

(Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith,Deseret Book Co., pg 354)

The Church Newspaper

I thought I'd thumb through a thin stack of old LDS church newspapers I got from my grandmother back in 2003. I've mentioned these papers before, however, I thought I'd point out a few things I found in one of them tonight.

"Word and Will," is the topic of discussion on the back side of the 16 AUG 2003 issue. Here are three quotes taken from this article:
"Wise Church members keep their eyes trained on the course set by the prophets and apostles under inspiration from Christ." (italics added)
"Consistent with the three fold mission of the Church, we perfect one another and bring others, living and dead, to Christ." (italics added)
"The revelation prescribed principles of conduct to ensure spirituality and worthiness for the continued guidance of the Holy Spirit." (italics added)

Now, these points may seem trivial, yet, in the large picture of things, the words in italics give off the subtle hints of the mind control that the Mormon authorities use to manipulate the people in their 'faith.'

*Just a side note: These newspapers, like their (LDS) newspaper website, only very briefly speak of Jesus Christ, and even then, you would need a magnifying glass to find Him... There is no Christ centered discussion in the papers, just church, good works, pioneer day, temples, more church, and the tabernacle choir. There isn't even a picture in my newspapers of Jesus Christ, but they will plaster the angel moroni on its pages.

A Joe Moment

God an Exalted Man

"God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!...I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form - like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man...it is necessary we should understand the character and being of God and how he came to be so; for I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see...he was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did; and I will show it from the Bible.

(Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Deseret Book, 1989, pgs, 345 & 346)

Saints Alive Special Report-Emergent Mormonism

Special Report March 2011 Ed Decker Saints Alive In Jesus P.O. Box 1347 Issaquah WA 98027 ed@saintsalive.com A Note from Ed Dear Friends, It is hard to believe that we have mailed many hundreds of issues of our newsletters and other material to well over a quarter of a million specific addresses. The thing that surprised me is the large number of you who have been with us for several decades, at least, if not three decades. When I call you our "faithful Friends", I really mean it. We have also had several million people visit our website www.saintsalive.com and they have downloaded around a million pages of information from close to 100 countries. Massive impact! This e-Newsletter has already reached hundreds of thousands of people since we began it over 5 years ago. I started this ministry in January of 1977, 34 years ago and during those 34 years, we have always been the edge of pushing past our resources and that is as true this month as it was 25 years ago. My vision, burden, calling, or my zeal for this ministry has been the daily core of my life since I asked for my excommunication trial in 1976. The only thing on earth that has had precedent over it has been the Lord and my family. Today, Carol, Jason, Josh and Joscelyn work with me to keep up with the many demands. Since we began, ever expanding computer technology, the internet and all the social networking systems have increased our world-wide outreach by many thousands-fold. In the old days, I would travel for weeks, speaking at churches every night, travelling every day and perhaps reach ten thousand people on a trip. Today, I can write an article, post it on our website and 4 or 5 other sites like Facebook, and tens of thousands of people see it in an hour. . Back when I did live radio and TV and sent out audio program tapes to each station each week I was reaching thousands. Now, many of the national programs I guest on today reach hundreds of cities and millions of listeners. I will also begin doing a web-radio program as soon as I can figure out the mechanics of it. For those of you who have been with us for so long, thank you for sticking with us over these years. You have no idea how blessed we feel. And as always, I implore you to keep supporting us with your prayers and your gifts. One PayPal gift from each of you for $10 or $20 would put this work in the solid black for many months to come. Please pray about standing with us. Your brother in Christ, Ed Decker

We are discontinuing our VHS Inventories Effective immediately Until supplies [hopefully] run out All VHS products Only $6.00 plus s/h The Emergent Mormon Church Ed Decker I have been quietly spending a great deal of time lately on 'unofficial' Mormon websites, forums and blog sites, and communicating with so many Mormons, [under a pseudonym, obviously]. I didn't do this to argue or debate. I wanted to listen, to feel the pulse of regular Mormon people. What I have found is an astonishing discovery of something I have already suspected for some time. The LDS Brethren have been trying to align themselves with general Christianity for the last decade or so. It was never clearer than when Mitt Romney ran for President. It rose up to a crashing crescendo when Glenn Beck gathered up groups of Christian leaders and put on his "We are All One' party at the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall. Mormonism can never align itself with Orthodox, biblically based Christianity for many reasons, yet the Mormon people want to be known as true Christians. What these Mormons are saying on their forums, blogs and FB pages is that most of them generally pick and choose what they want to be the focus of their 'religious' experience in the Church. They just junk the parts that make them feel uncomfortable. Sort of what American Catholics and ala-carte' Christians have been doing for years? Now, this is true across the general population within the LDS church. It isn't a segment of the members; it is widespread among them. On the part of the leadership, we see another anomaly. Rarely, if ever, are the deviant doctrines preached from the pulpits anymore. The preaching is a feel good set of messages meant to make the members and their families happy to be there and smiling when they leave. We talk to recent converts about some of these strange doctrines and they look at us like we are crazy. They haven't been taught about their Mother in Heaven, or the black skin curse, or Jesus and Lucifer being brothers, as examples. The LDS Church leadership has recently made great strides in cuddling up to the Christian body, but it isn't where you would think, understanding the conservative DNA of Mormonism. They are copying and using the same methods and techniques as the Seeker Friendly and Emergent Church groups and finding that they have strong compatibilities. They also see that the leaders of these groups accept them at smiley face value and would never think to challenge them doctrinally. A Tinker Bell and Peter Pan relationship. A Mormon could go to any one of such a church type and be openly welcomed, accepted as a Mormon 'believer' and be extremely comfortable... while never challenged spiritually. And leave church feeling really good. Except for the weekly Wonder Bread and Water Sacrament, the Mormon can feel right at home...at any Seeker Friendly or Emergent church gathering. One recent forum thread was about which non-LDS churches they felt comfortable attending. This is what one of our Board members, Eric Barger has to say about the Emergent Church. Look at the Emergent Mormonism parallels here: www.EricBarger.com The Errors of the Emergent Church I know many Emergent sympathizers would object and say that I am generalizing. However, that simply is not the case. Even without much space to elaborate in this article, and even as difficult as "Emergent Speak" can be to decipher, once one boils it down, just a partial outline of Emergent philosophies indicates glaring flaws. To Emergents, Christianity is: * Experience over Reason * Images over Words * Spirituality over Doctrine * Subjective Feelings over Absolute Truth * Earthly Justice over Salvation * Social Action over Eternity Mormons are 100% in line with the first four characteristics and with a little tweaking, can accept the last two, as well. They also have their own Mormon-Speak vocabulary. When then President Gordon B. Hinckley was interviewed by Larry King in 2004, he was asked what happens when a person dies. Here he had the opportunity to speak as a true prophet and declare the judgment and the three degrees of Glory. Instead, God's mouthpiece for the earth just didn't know. KING: What happens when you die? HINCKLEY: When you die? Well, I'm not fully conversant with that. I haven't passed through that yet. Sort of reminded me of a recent interview on the Piers Morgan Tonight program that replaced Larry King Live. I do like the more direct approach to issues that Piers has, compared to the King approach. Piers was interviewing Joel Osteen, Pastor of one of the largest Seeker Friendly Churches in America. Piers worked hard to get him to reluctantly admit that homosexuality was a sin, according to the Bible, but could not get him to define what makes a person saved and going to heaven. Pastor Osteen did not know or would not say who was going to heaven and how to get there. Millions of people were watching and the pastor of tens of thousands of Christian church members could not give the basic elements of Salvation, lest someone be offended. This is the kind of Christianity the Mormon leaders are becoming kissing cousins to, and it will get far worse as time goes on and no one speaks out about it. One LDS Blogger wrote that the church was suffering from a case of spiritual schizophrenia or multiple personality disorder. The Dictionary definitions of these two are, First schizophrenia: Any of a group of psychotic disorders usually characterized by withdrawal from reality, illogical patterns of thinking, delusions, and hallucinations, and accompanied in varying degrees by other emotional, behavioral, or intellectual disturbances And Second, multiple personality disorder: A situation, state of mind, in which widely conflicting opinions, ideas, or practices coexist, often resulting in indecision, vacillation, wavering, etc. While one can smile and see the sad truth in what the blogger wrote, The Emergent and Seeker Friendly Churches suffer the same maladies and they are the Christianity the Mormons are now seeking fellowship with and getting results. Watch and be warned. The LDS Church will soon become another branch of shattered Christianity. Ed Decker www.saintsalive.com

Saints alive in Jesus P.O. Box 1347 Issaquah WA 98028 www.saintsalive.com ed@saintsalive.com