Mormon Direction

I have recently come across spiritual testimonies by other Christians who had dream-visions experiencing hell. A dream-vision, or dreaming the dream, is a spiritual vision while asleep. Such events occurred throughout the Bible and Book of Mormon (Matthew 2:12 ; 1 Nephi 2:2 as an example). These spiritual testimonies that I have read related true accounts, but some tried to explain these experiences, in vain, with the scriptures. Even the detractors of these accounts tried to use the Bible to discredit them, also in vain.

When in the spiritual experience of a vision or a spiritual presence, the person is in the spirit of it. They are able, to some extent, perceive spiritually. Once out of the spiritual experience and back into their mortal awareness, they are out of spirit and any spiritual powers of perception also leave them. Any impression left by the experience can promote understanding of that experience, over time, if they handle the experience rightly. Trying to interpret the entire spiritual vision by their own power will fail because it becomes a private interpretation from a mortal perspective, not a spiritual perspective, the latter requiring spiritual development and personal change of the mind and heart.

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I have heard many claim entrenchment in their beliefs about their church, their faith, their particular religion, claiming it is God’s. By these firm beliefs, they claim to have a testimony. Many people hear their testimony and hear they firmly believe what they claim. People have heard these firm beliefs from one Christian denomination to the next. Then, when approached by missionaries from this LDS Church, they hear another claim of firm belief. In response, they then stand in doubt because they cannot discern which is true.

To filter through these firm beliefs and to discern what is God’s truth and what is merely a personal belief, we must first consider that a “firmness” in belief is an expression found in many facets of life. It is not specific to religion, it exists everywhere. The phrase “I firmly believe” is a common phrase used by people to proclaim their stance with something or in regards to something.

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A new update to Mormon Messages entitled, Book of Mormon: An Introduction, narrated by Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, spoke about the authenticity of the Book of Mormon, stating that this book are the words of ancient prophets of God, spoken by the Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation.

Can we believe this?- The answer is Yes, it is believable, as it is also believable that the Bible is the word of God.

The Book of Mormon is as believable as the Bible.

Many outside the Church, even those who disaffected from the Church would deny my statement that the Book of Mormon is as believable as the Bible. Those that doubt or deny will claim that the Bible is clearly the word of God, but not the Book of Mormon, but have they really thought about it?

Many who read and believe the Bible do so by their personal choice. Many have not researched the Bible or read history or seek historic evidence of its existence in past centuries, but they still believe. They have not sought out physical proof that Jesus lived on this earth and died on the cross, yet they simply believed it when they read it. They may believe the words spoken by others, by a local pastor or friend who speaks to them about their local Christian church. For a large number of these people, what it comes down to for them, is they simply believe. An act of mind and heart that is no different for those who simply believe the Book of Mormon.

Some may claim that the Bible is backed up by historic fact, proven that it was written by ancient people, but none of these temporal claims can prove it is the word of God.

Please read that last sentence again, it said that no historic evidence can prove the Bible to be the word of God and no historic evidence can prove the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.

For anything to be the word of God must be proven by the Holy Spirit, not by historic evidence.

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I have read quite a few statements by ex-members who claim they have seen the light that this Church is false and they spent years believing in the wrong church. Reading their personal accounts I have found an alarming trait with all of them. None have claimed that God told them to leave, not one. 

The beliefs that each of them held, to account for leaving the Church, have centered on some claim that the Church lied, or mistreated them, or that they claimed the Church is false after reading some book or article about some historic account that tainted the Church, etc etc. With that, they professed the Church was false. 

Not one of their claims have originated from the Spirit of God, not one of their beliefs is spiritually based, not one is spiritually justified. Wouldn’t a spiritual basis be the foremost important reason for staying or leaving, knowing that it is only the spiritual that God works in and determines if a church is his?

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There is an endless array of claims against Joseph Smith and this Church, so much so, it would be hard to count them, but from time to time, I feel there is a need to address some of these claims, for faith reasons. What would be my reason to address only a few? The reason is to express spiritual common sense and first hand knowledge and experience toward those Anti-Mormon claims, showing the foolishness of them.

Over the many years, from the moment of Joseph Smith’s First Vision, his creditability was attacked. It began the moment Joseph Smith related the First Vision to a Methodist preacher who flatly denied him and essentially called Joseph a promoter of the devil. The vigor and fervor of that opposition spread and grew.

This says that the First Vision preceded any claims about Joseph Smith and because of the First Vision, evil intentions rose in others which Satan grabbed hold of and worked it to death (pun intended). From that point on, problems existed about so called “testimonies” made by people against Joseph Smith.

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When I was approached by the LDS missionaries, I felt the Holy Ghost confirm that meeting was important. The Holy Ghost later confirmed that my membership with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was good and true. At no time did I have any concern about any “alledged” immoral actions of other Mormons.  My attendance to this Church was led by the Spirit, not by personal judgements of other people. 

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One of the challenges of being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is whether a particular doctrine or practice is believable or acceptable. I have read and heard so many claims by ex-Mormons of how they were fooled or blinded to some of the doctrines or activities of the Church.

Some of the common complaints surround tithing, lack of answers to prayers, Adam-God Theory, Blacks previously refused the priesthood, men oriented church, and so on. When I looked at these claims or complaints and the stories behind them I see that they are just personal, which means that their issues are specific to them. For some things the Church has done, such as restrict Black men from the priesthood, are true, but making personal issue out of these things certainly does not gain the ear of the Lord neither does it gain any help or witness from the Holy Ghost. Why is this? It is because making personal issue is the act of contention which is the spirit of contention and such is not of God.

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