"Consider it pure joy, my brother, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." (JAMES 1:2-12) (italics added)
As a Christian, trials are a part of the walk towards Christian maturity. Trials are a way for God to test our faith in Him. If there is difficulty along the path of perseverance, God has given us a way to get His help. Usually it's the inability to understand what is going on at the time that causes a multitude of emotions and indecision. God tells us that if we lack the wisdom, or the practical insight, we are to go to Him in prayer in order for that wisdom to be made known. The catch is, doubt must not be in the Christian's heart and mind. You must believe whole heartedly that God will answer your petition. The answer may or may not be what you're after, but it's what God knows you need. He gives you the strength to get through the unpleasant hardships. We should not, however, think that we will receive anything from the Lord. We need to be humble and undeserving, yet believe and not doubt in the Lord. We will be blessed through our perseverance and receive the crown of life that has been promised us. Perseverance must finish its work first. Like James states, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds...".
Every Mormon (or anyone else for that matter) who reads the passages in James chapter one needs to understand the full meaning of verse five. That particular verse is for Christians to pray to God for wisdom while persevering through their trials. This verse is not to be taken out of context and applied to the Book of Mormon. The Mormon missionaries like to present James 1:5 in their introduction to the Book of Mormon to non-Mormons. They encourage potential members to pray for the wisdom of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon (this particular verse is used out of its true meaning), and if they do not doubt, the non-Mormon will get the "truthfulness of the Book of Mormon." This passage of scripture is not to be applied to the Book of Mormon. The Bible does not teach us to pray for the "truthfulness of the Book of Mormon."
I encourage all Christians to study the scriptures, so when you are approached by the Mormon missionaries, you will show yourself approved in the wisdom of truth and error.
Perseverance in Trials
The Ex-Mormon
ACCORDING TO: ABOUTMORMONISM.COM
My thoughts are in red and in brackets.
"Ex-Mormon, sometimes abbreviated as Exmo, is a term used by former members of the Mormon church, properly known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to describe themselves. There is no one group that can be described as "Ex-Mormon," since those who leave the Mormon Church do so for a variety of different reasons. Dissenters range from liberal atheists to committed Evangelical Christians. [ok, now, for me, I was not a dissenter from the Mormon church. This statement is closed minded and false. The writer was not careful in the words chosen. Did ya notice, when "Evangelical Christians" is put in here, Mormonism is showing its true colors here. Remember, Mormonism is not Christian!!!!!]
While technically anyone who leaves the Mormon Church could be described as an "Ex-Mormon," the term is generally reserved for people active in the ex-Mormon, and frequently anti-Mormon, world especially on internet blogs. [The term "Ex-Mormon" is just that, meaning someone no longer in the Mormon church. Now the term has shifted to the www. thing and to all Ex-Mormon bloggers. The Mormon church should not lump those who are getting the truth out to truth seekers into a huge pile. Spreading the truth is a loving thing to do.]
Perhaps the most famous of these self-described ex-Mormon groups is Ed Decker's organization called variously "Recovery from Mormonism," "Saints Alive," or "Ex-Mormons for Jesus." Decker was excommunicated from the Mormon Church in 1976. He has become quite controversial for is sensationalists attacks against Mormonism (which were condemned by the Anti-Defamation League [I looked up the ADL's web page, and did an extensive search on it and it does not say anything about Ed Decker and his work, it's a web site for the Jews.]) his hyperbolic [Meaning of being a hyperbole. So what's a hyperbole? It's a noun meaning obvious exaggeration; an extravagant statement. If Ed is being hyperbolic for the real JESUS, then yeah he has a right to be hyperbolic!] language and unsubstantiated [Meaning not established by evidence. Go to his web site and find out for yourself if Ed has any evidence or not. You'll find out that his work is full of evidence! www.saintsaliveinjesus.com] claims. Other ex-Mormons and critics of Mormonism have rejected his work and his style, but he remains influential particularly through the internet.
The majority of those who describe themselves as ex-Mormons and participate in the various on-line ex-Mormon blogs are secular humanists who reject belief in God altogether [I am not a student of human paganism. Quite the contrary. I show the TRUTH about a FALSE religion, or cult, that has brought evil to the world and to Christianity! The true Christ of the Bible, only, please!]. Many of these writers attack Mormonism claiming that its leaders discourage freedom of thought or force conformity. Many assail what they perceive as hypocrisy [pretending to be what one is not] among Mormons [Most Mormons don't know the hypocrisy of the LDS faith.]. This latter argument is very popular among agnostic critics who see in every weakness or failing an instance of hypocrisy. They relate ad infinitum [To infinity or endlessly.] accounts of Mormon bishops or Mormon missionaries doing something contrary to their own beliefs [Truth hurts doesn't it.]. There is a disturbing schadenfreude [Great word isn't it. If you already know what it means. Translation for the English: "the habit of dwelling with enjoyment of evil thoughts."] in their attacks on every human failing of faithful Mormons [Nice play of words. The TRUTH is, it's the organization of Mormonism that is attacked, not the people. They only DO what they are told, ie; bishops and missionaries. Oh yeah, the REAL JESUS is not evil. My enjoyment is of HIM only!]. Many ex-Mormons describe feeling duped or tricked and to justify their having believed in it, they accuse the Mormon Church and its culture of brainwashing and lying [Did you catch that? "its culture of brainwashing and lying!" There you go, in their own words. It is a culture of brainwashing and lying. Nuff said.]. Many also evince [To show plainly. And I do.] a very egocentric [Viewing everything in relation to oneself.] outlook in concluding that since they no longer believe in Mormonism [I show plainly the facts of a false religion and they are objective.], then any other intelligent person should consider Mormonism absurd [If the intelligent person would study the truth]. They conclude that other Mormons are either lying or deluded or simply after power [Remember, it's not the person that has the problem, it's the system, THE SYSTEM!]." (www.AboutMormonism.com, italics added, red type added, brackets added,)
What You Need To Know
please click on each photo and read on....
I would like to thank Ed Decker for his consent to post this Quick Reference Guide on my blog. I have linked his web site "Saints Alive" in the heading. Please click on the heading and spend some time there. It it a very uplifting and informative web. Go to his bookstore and get a copy of this guide for your own library.
