Why We Evangelize Mormons

Apologia Utah

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Good evening sir, got a gospel track for you, man. You having a good day? Yeah. Yeah, what have you been up to?

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What do you do for school? You study history? Oh, that's cool.

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How long have you been at BYU for? Three years. So you're about to graduate? No, I'll graduate next year.

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Yeah. Yeah. So next year about to graduate. That's cool, man. That's cool So I'm guessing you're LDS. Have you been raised

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LDS? From Utah? No, I'm from Washington Really? Wow, tell me your story man.

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How did you stay LDS in Seattle? I don't know. I had a good family, good board support system and like to be honest, it was always really easy for me to believe like I just like Feel like I was really close to God growing up and always felt like this was the right thing for me.

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Okay, okay What's your name, by the way? Nathan. Nathan. I'm Andrew. Nice to meet you, man. Yeah So we're

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Evangelical Christians out here. We just like to get in conversations with our LDS neighbors Just see how they're doing.

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What do you know about Evangelical Christianity? I know just a little bit, a couple.

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I know that you believe that the Bible is the infallible Word of God and that all truth comes from the

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Bible I know that you believe some things about God that are a little bit different than what LDS believes.

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Yeah Yeah, you think those differences are important?

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Yeah, of course. Yeah. Yeah Okay, I think that it's it's more important that we focus on like you know building faith between different faith communities than focusing on the differences, but obviously theological differences are extremely essential in the long run.

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Those are the kinds of things that If I were to ask you what do you think is the number one difference the biggest theological difference between Evangelical Christians and LDS community.

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What do you think the biggest one is? Um, that's a good question. There's quite a few. The first one that comes to my mind is like continuing revelation through a prophet

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Oh, okay. Versus believing that all truth is found in the Bible. Okay. Gotcha. Gotcha So what if I were to say to you

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I'll grant you the position that there could be continuing revelation from a prophet But the Bible actually gives us a way to test what that prophet says

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What if I so if I grant you that position that's good, right? So have you ever heard of the tests of a prophet in Scripture?

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No, no, okay, so there's Deuteronomy 13 It says if a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and produces miracles signs and wonders

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So if it looks legit, they're met doing miracles But if they lead you after another God gods of which you have not known don't believe them first test

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Deuteronomy 13 So it's Moses bringing the second generation into the promised land is the first generation fell away

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He's telling them how to recognize false prophets And then we have Deuteronomy 18 where it says if someone comes and says they speak in the name of Yahweh But if the thing does not come to pass, so if it doesn't happen, they say thus sayeth the

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Lord it doesn't happen Then they are considered a false prophet There's two tests of a prophet right there in Scripture.

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So do you think that Joseph Smith and some of his revelations would pass that? Yeah, I think so.

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You think so? Okay, let me give let me give you an example real quick about the deity of Christ and how I would say

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Joseph Smith differs okay, so John 1 1 in the beginning was the

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Word and the Word was with God in the Word was God Says all things were created through him.

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There was nothing that came into being Unless it was created through him Then in Colossians 1 about Jesus.

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It says he created all things on heaven and on earth visible and invisible

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Whether thrones dominions rulers or authorities all things were created through him and for him and he is before all things and in him all things were together

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But what Joseph Smith says about Jesus is that he's the offspring of heavenly mother Right and heavenly father that he is the spirit brother of Lucifer in your spirit brother as well

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But the Bible clearly states that he created all things on heaven and on earth visible and invisible anything that came into being

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Was created by Jesus So in Deuteronomy 13, it says if someone has signs and wonders looks legit, but if they lead you after another

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God Don't believe them. So according to previous revelation in Scripture if I test

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Joseph Smith because it says to test the test the spirits I would say he fails the first test

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Because the Jesus that has been previously presented to me in Scripture the Jesus who says heaven and earth shall pass away

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But my words by no means will ever pass away He's a different Jesus Than the one

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Joseph presented I'd say he fails that first test. I think that's important. You'd say that's important It's something

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I'll have to think about about. Yeah, because like and there there are other things that I've come across before like, you know aren't like Perfectly like things don't always perfectly line up, right?

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What the Bible says but I do say that I put my faith in God it's like The first thing and I believe that I can go to him for questions like this.

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Mm -hmm. And so For me, it's something that I'm gonna be thinking about but like also

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Dealing like with God with it and not just trying to Decide on my own does this this is corroborated with my scripture?

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Yeah Yeah, and I don't know if that's similar to how you approach these sorts of things as well Let me tell you how

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I approach it. So I'll go to the Bible for it in Acts 17 11 Paul is actually preaching the gospel

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To the Bereans and this is what he says. He says you Bereans are more noble than those in Thessalonica He says in that you received the word with all readiness

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But you search the scriptures to sit to see that what what I was saying was actually right?

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So I would actually test to scripture Right, so it is important too.

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And I think you should continue to look at it Nathan because in John chapter 1 I'll give you a quick Greek word study. Okay? Okay The original language that the

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Bible was written in the New Testament specifically was coin a Greek and it says an archaic and Halagos, all right

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And the word we translate to was in the beginning was the word was the coin a Greek word in You know what?

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That means in 20 in 20 Greek It means from as far back as you can go with no point of origin or reference in time at all it

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There right so in reference to Jesus it says in the beginning was the word

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So before time before space before matter as far back as you can go into eternity

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The Logos was there was the word and it says the word was with God and in the

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Greek for with God is crossed on They on you can do these Greek studies on your own and it means that he was in Fellowship with the father intimate fellowship from as far back as you can go in a relationship with the father an intimate relationship

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So Jesus was never once an intelligence or matter, right? The Logos has always been there in relation with the father

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So in the first the literally the first verse of John we are presented with a

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Jesus That has existed from all eternity with a quick Greek word study. You can look that up Nathan I said yeah,

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I say I suggest you yeah test it test the words of your prophet man because think about this

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Nathan okay, real real quick think about this if What we're told is to doubt the

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Word of God that it's missing many plain and precious parts It's just like Lucifer in the garden my friend because Eve tells him no

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I don't want to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil I can't do that. And the very first thing Lucifer says to her is this did

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God say that? Did God say that? I think what you're what you're hearing is missing many plain and precious parts

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Did God really say that he says guess what? He doesn't want you to eat from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge good and evil because he knows that you'll become like a god one day

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Guess what? The LDS Church tells you the same thing. It says the Bible is missing many plain and precious parts You can't test what

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Joseph says to the Bible and guess what? You'll become a god one day The Bible says in Isaiah 43 10

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Nathan before me. There was no God formed. Neither shall there be after me Isaiah 44 6.

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I'm the first I am the last beside me. There is no God And Jesus himself says unless you believe that I am

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Referencing the divine name of God Yahweh. I am who I am He says if you don't believe that he said you'll die in your sins

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Then the one of Scripture you don't have an atonement for your sins and the Jesus of Scripture his atonement is efficacious in every way

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It's his righteousness that I will wear when I stand before God one day Just so I can glorify

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God and enjoy him forever. And that's the gospel that you're a sinner, right? You are not perfect You'll never be perfect but guess what

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Jesus was God in the flesh who fully satisfied the wrath of the Eternal God because he was the

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Eternal God and That you can wear his righteousness when you stand before the Father one day and you will be in heaven with him

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That's the gospel as simple as that. You can't work your way into heaven. It will never work.

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You'll be working forever It'll never happen So Nathan test test you the words of your prophet.

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Okay, go back to Scripture. I recommend read John and read Romans. Okay, I Appreciate that testimony.

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And yes your name Andrew. Yeah. Okay, cool. All right. Well, I appreciate the conversation Awesome, and if I can share with you

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I do believe that the Bible has been a miracle in my life and bringing me closer to God but the

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Book of Mormon and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter -day Saints have to and so I fully intend to test and wrestle with the things that you've given me sweet, but I I do also have a lot of faith in those things that have also bring brought me closer to God Yeah, cool

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Nathan. I appreciate the conversation you'd meet you man. You're pleasant to talk with I'll be here next Thursday as well If you're walking around dude,