Psalm 146:6-7 (NKJV)
6 Who made heaven and earth,
The sea, and all that is in them;
Who keeps truth forever,
7 Who executes justice for the oppressed,
Who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners.
One notion that has been set in me for many years is highlighted in Randy Alcorn’s book-The Edge of Eternity. How we end up finding ourselves in prisons, sometimes of our own making, Sometimes not, as we have issues from our pasts where something was done to us, that we just cannot forgive.
In both cases, the cell door to the outside world is unlocked. And really Christ is standing at the unlocked door to our prison cells beckoning us to come out. We cannot accept that freedom is that easy to just open the cell door and walk outside and be free, because we
cannot imagine what freedom is like, So we choose to remain where we always have been—locked up. These spiritual prisons we can be locked in have all the elements of a relative comfort and we think we are safe and secure inside them. We have learned to just accept this existence.
I, after 40 years from birth ---- had been in a spiritual prison, in what is often referred to as a Religious cult-----the Mormon Church. That I was afraid to question the leaders in this cult as they supposedly told me what God was saying and I really learned to accept their teachings as “from God”. Trusting in their founding prophet Joseph Smith and the current leader of the Church I thought was all I needed, That God was too distant for me and I needed a modern-day prophet to essentially tell me what to believe.
Especially, when I became an adult, I was told repeatedly that all other Churches were false, and that Mormon church was the ONLY True Church. This was a part of my own testimony back then—"I know that I am in the ONLY true Church”. I never had a reference point to make that distinction.
As the Church places a lot of requirements on it’s Members, which are works -based, I found that I could not keep those requirements and drank for many years. I just felt I was not worthy, "so why try?” became my rationale for many years and that is why there are many jack-Mormons. They, in their beliefs, told me that I would at least go to their second level of heaven, while the more devout Mormons were supposed to make their way to the highest level of heaven and their Mormon God would even make them Gods themselves. There, working with their many wives to populate another earth, while those of us in that second level of heaven took care of the needs of those more worthy. “Ministering servant” was what I was destined to be for those Mormons who were far more worthy. It is a bizarre scenario as I look back at it---now with the True Christ in my life.
But the True God was working on me all those years with a lot of unsettledness. For one thing, I had a non-Mormon grandmother that insisted that I go to a Methodist Vacation Bible school when I was about 6 years of age. There I learned the 23rd Psalm and learned the words of “Jesus Loves me”. Those “seeds” were to remain in me all these years, as I am 68 right now.
God has to humble each of us or in my case bring me to my knees to truly find Him. You see Mormonism teaches a definite arrogance—that they can be Gods themselves and they can look down on those who are not in the True Church that they claim or really “know’ they are in. A Mormon’s testimony is really part of the whole deception. As they claim “to know” Joseph Smith was a true prophet and “they know” their Church of Jesus of Latter Day Saints is the ONLY True Church on the face of the earth. When you hear these “I knows” a few thousand other times from other members, along with you own testimony—it becomes a group-think type of thing, creating Indoctrination. No surprise that many who leave the Church become atheists---as that ONLY TRUE CHURCH becomes ingrained in you.
Their own individual efforts are what is going to bring them to salvation, and it is a somewhat of a race to prove their individual worthiness. The rest of Christianity are supposedly in the Apostate Church, while the Mormons Religion pretends to bring to the world the True Gospel of Christ after it had been lost for close to 2000 years from the face of the earth. Their God was supposedly, just a man at one time before the Beginning. Their notions were the exact opposite of humbleness before God.
In 1995 my only son committed suicide and I found him just after he took his life. Even though I had not thought about in for many years, I recalled the words of the 23rd Psalm that day from my childhood, Which ended up being the start of my growth in the True Christ that remains to me to this day. I remember that day exactly, and even my short prayer of “Lord save me” which I uttered. Not knowing at the time, the Apostle Peter used exactly the same words here:
Matthew 14:30
But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!
Even though I had a faith in Him that day which was probably smaller that a mustard seed----in the days, months and years afterward, He did save me. He delivered me on dry ground, and Christ essentially led me out of my spiritual prison I thought I was locked up in for 40 years through His True Word---the Holy Bible, . I remember at that time that I attempted to find the same relief with the Book of Mormon and the other 2 Mormon scriptures and I could not. Christ simply started me with a definite “hunger for His only Word” that remains in me to this very day. That the Bible is the only source for finding that Peace that Christ will send for those who truly believe in Him.
In my prayer life over the years, I have learned to NOT pray for things that I wanted to be true, but for God’s Truth to come out in me. That praying for God’s Will is so important that remains in me to this day. Praying for the truth of the BoM, is essentially telling God it is true and He is supposed to confirm it. Mormons have a very unique and false way of setting up people up with the wording of their Moroni Challenge that they suggest to most of these potential converts and for Mormons that are having doubts. The way it is worded--- is all dependent of having sincere heart and Faith in Christ to where you can only then ask God to reveal the truthfulness of this book. You are in effect, telling God in your prayers what the answers you want. When I was leaving the Mormon Church, I at one time, went back to that Moroni challenge and God put it into my heart that I was asking amiss. Praying a prayer from a book that turned out to be fiction---is NOT trusting God for His Truths. Truth is arrived at in this method.
John 16:13
However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come
I can now spiritually see now what a dark, dank place that was this prison of Mormonism that I was in for 40 years. Now in the freedom and Light of the True Christ, the difference is dramatic.. It is like I am finally out in the sunlight and free from their works-based Religion, they have set up. You find the True Christ and with God’s Holy Spirt ---you will be led to these “works” in a total Trust in Christ.
John 8:36
Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
6 Who made heaven and earth,
The sea, and all that is in them;
Who keeps truth forever,
7 Who executes justice for the oppressed,
Who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners.
One notion that has been set in me for many years is highlighted in Randy Alcorn’s book-The Edge of Eternity. How we end up finding ourselves in prisons, sometimes of our own making, Sometimes not, as we have issues from our pasts where something was done to us, that we just cannot forgive.
In both cases, the cell door to the outside world is unlocked. And really Christ is standing at the unlocked door to our prison cells beckoning us to come out. We cannot accept that freedom is that easy to just open the cell door and walk outside and be free, because we
cannot imagine what freedom is like, So we choose to remain where we always have been—locked up. These spiritual prisons we can be locked in have all the elements of a relative comfort and we think we are safe and secure inside them. We have learned to just accept this existence.
I, after 40 years from birth ---- had been in a spiritual prison, in what is often referred to as a Religious cult-----the Mormon Church. That I was afraid to question the leaders in this cult as they supposedly told me what God was saying and I really learned to accept their teachings as “from God”. Trusting in their founding prophet Joseph Smith and the current leader of the Church I thought was all I needed, That God was too distant for me and I needed a modern-day prophet to essentially tell me what to believe.
Especially, when I became an adult, I was told repeatedly that all other Churches were false, and that Mormon church was the ONLY True Church. This was a part of my own testimony back then—"I know that I am in the ONLY true Church”. I never had a reference point to make that distinction.
As the Church places a lot of requirements on it’s Members, which are works -based, I found that I could not keep those requirements and drank for many years. I just felt I was not worthy, "so why try?” became my rationale for many years and that is why there are many jack-Mormons. They, in their beliefs, told me that I would at least go to their second level of heaven, while the more devout Mormons were supposed to make their way to the highest level of heaven and their Mormon God would even make them Gods themselves. There, working with their many wives to populate another earth, while those of us in that second level of heaven took care of the needs of those more worthy. “Ministering servant” was what I was destined to be for those Mormons who were far more worthy. It is a bizarre scenario as I look back at it---now with the True Christ in my life.
But the True God was working on me all those years with a lot of unsettledness. For one thing, I had a non-Mormon grandmother that insisted that I go to a Methodist Vacation Bible school when I was about 6 years of age. There I learned the 23rd Psalm and learned the words of “Jesus Loves me”. Those “seeds” were to remain in me all these years, as I am 68 right now.
God has to humble each of us or in my case bring me to my knees to truly find Him. You see Mormonism teaches a definite arrogance—that they can be Gods themselves and they can look down on those who are not in the True Church that they claim or really “know’ they are in. A Mormon’s testimony is really part of the whole deception. As they claim “to know” Joseph Smith was a true prophet and “they know” their Church of Jesus of Latter Day Saints is the ONLY True Church on the face of the earth. When you hear these “I knows” a few thousand other times from other members, along with you own testimony—it becomes a group-think type of thing, creating Indoctrination. No surprise that many who leave the Church become atheists---as that ONLY TRUE CHURCH becomes ingrained in you.
Their own individual efforts are what is going to bring them to salvation, and it is a somewhat of a race to prove their individual worthiness. The rest of Christianity are supposedly in the Apostate Church, while the Mormons Religion pretends to bring to the world the True Gospel of Christ after it had been lost for close to 2000 years from the face of the earth. Their God was supposedly, just a man at one time before the Beginning. Their notions were the exact opposite of humbleness before God.
In 1995 my only son committed suicide and I found him just after he took his life. Even though I had not thought about in for many years, I recalled the words of the 23rd Psalm that day from my childhood, Which ended up being the start of my growth in the True Christ that remains to me to this day. I remember that day exactly, and even my short prayer of “Lord save me” which I uttered. Not knowing at the time, the Apostle Peter used exactly the same words here:
Matthew 14:30
But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!
Even though I had a faith in Him that day which was probably smaller that a mustard seed----in the days, months and years afterward, He did save me. He delivered me on dry ground, and Christ essentially led me out of my spiritual prison I thought I was locked up in for 40 years through His True Word---the Holy Bible, . I remember at that time that I attempted to find the same relief with the Book of Mormon and the other 2 Mormon scriptures and I could not. Christ simply started me with a definite “hunger for His only Word” that remains in me to this very day. That the Bible is the only source for finding that Peace that Christ will send for those who truly believe in Him.
In my prayer life over the years, I have learned to NOT pray for things that I wanted to be true, but for God’s Truth to come out in me. That praying for God’s Will is so important that remains in me to this day. Praying for the truth of the BoM, is essentially telling God it is true and He is supposed to confirm it. Mormons have a very unique and false way of setting up people up with the wording of their Moroni Challenge that they suggest to most of these potential converts and for Mormons that are having doubts. The way it is worded--- is all dependent of having sincere heart and Faith in Christ to where you can only then ask God to reveal the truthfulness of this book. You are in effect, telling God in your prayers what the answers you want. When I was leaving the Mormon Church, I at one time, went back to that Moroni challenge and God put it into my heart that I was asking amiss. Praying a prayer from a book that turned out to be fiction---is NOT trusting God for His Truths. Truth is arrived at in this method.
John 16:13
However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come
I can now spiritually see now what a dark, dank place that was this prison of Mormonism that I was in for 40 years. Now in the freedom and Light of the True Christ, the difference is dramatic.. It is like I am finally out in the sunlight and free from their works-based Religion, they have set up. You find the True Christ and with God’s Holy Spirt ---you will be led to these “works” in a total Trust in Christ.
John 8:36
Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.