Virtual Realities - The Role of the Electronic Church

Virtual Realities:

the role of the electronic church

based on conversations I have had with professing christians

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised; and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching (Hebrews 10:23-25).

What a day we live in & what a point in history we’ve come to. In many respects it’s a Dickensian best-of-times-&-worst-of-times. This is true, not only of the world, but unfortunately it’s also true of The Church.

When I was born in 1968, there was no such thing as the internet. There were no mobile devices or smartphones. There was no social media. There were no DVDs. There were no flat screen televisions, no laptop computers & no tablets. There were fewer cars on the roads & not as many aeroplanes in the air. The Pound went much further than it does now & yet there was much less that people were tempted to buy. Technologically we seem to have come a long way. Certain other things haven’t changed though; they’ve become worse. There are still the problems of poverty, famine, war & debt. Hatred & greed have increased. The love of many has been exchanged for the love of money & even love itself has waxed cold. Racism & prejudice are feral social traits & it seems as if it’s more advantageous to do someone over in this day & age, rather than to do someone good.

By the time I was saved in 1981, national & international communications were booming, thanks largely to the development of satellite technology. This was great news. Radio & television programming from around the world became more accessible to everyone. We soon had [what is now commonly called] Sky TV & all of its peculiarities.

Sky TV’s global reach introduced something to the British & European airwaves that had hitherto been reserved for Sundays. There we were, in the mid 1990s, used to programmes like Credo & Songs of Praise, when there were news reports of an application for a religious broadcasting license by an unknown entity calling itself The Christian Chanel Europe. This was later dubbed The God Channel, then its name was changed to God Digital & now it’s known as GOD TV. I know what you’re thinking. Your guess, is as good as mine.

There was a sharp rise in blasphemy throughout the nation as The Lord’s Name was systematically taken in vain at this news & yet more reasoned debate concluded that with the correct legislation in the right places, the moral & financial abuses that had led to the demise of Jim & Tammy Bakker’s PTL club, could be avoided. We were British [it was said] & we didn’t go in for that type of thing. Well, we were soon to discover that although we were indeed British, it didn’t stop us going in for that & a whole multitude of other things.

Certain parts of The Church breathed a collective, heavy & heartfelt sigh, while others discreetly performed cartwheels & briskly rubbed their hands together under the table. There was money to be made, which sounded vaguely like there were souls to be saved, but who was checking? Either way, everyone involved on either side of the issue went to prayer.

For those of us who had been [figuratively] baptised in the fires of Pentecostalism & then wrapped up in the cotton candyfloss of the Charismatic Movement, this was good news. Previously, we had become accustomed to congregating in someone’s lounge & hijacking their VHS recorder for the evening. We would watch videos by the leading lights within the movement & for an hour or two we could imagine that we were right there in their services. GOD TV would eventually broadcast 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year.

Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: the one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: but the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death (Philippians 1:15-20).

For someone who suffered as much as the Apostle Paul, his outlook was rather chipper. A real faith in Christ will do that to you. As I read through his teaching in the New testament, I see his sold out service record for The Lord, his love for the Gospel & his burden for The Church, I cannot help but wonder what he would make of our current situation. Paul isn’t alone in his Apostolic admonitions. The Apostle Peter, who had been given specific, first hand instructions by Jesus Christ Himself (John 21:15-17), poured his heart out concerning the sheep he had been commanded to feed. I wonder what Peter would make of the modern Church. Beyond these Apostles however, ultimately, there is the determinate question of the will of Christ.

The deluge of Christian programming, proliferated via the world-wide-web is not a bad thing. However, in order to exploit the freedom of access to the resources that we enjoy, we have to accept that there are elements opposed to us who will exercise their right to do the very same thing. All of our action & interaction takes place on this amoral, level playing field & it is up to us to choose who & what we view & listen to.

For the believer in Christ & indeed for anyone who uses the internet, it goes without saying that there are definite things to avoid online. Yet the assumption is made [more often than not] that these warnings are concerned with pornography, gratuitous violence or coarseness & profanity. As unsavoury as these things are [& I know this to be the case because I once partook of all of them], I see an equally dangerous & corrosive trait being promoted & even defended in the Christian community; virtual fellowship. This is a serious issue.

I don’t have a problem with The Church or Churches having an online presence. I don’t even have a problem with the use of online Christian resources as supplemental to teaching or as an aid to study or research. I do that all the time. I do however have a HUGE problem with The Church or Churches who are promoting an online presence as a replacement or substitute for actual fellowship. I have an even BIGGER problem with those ‘ministries’ who aren’t even Churches, but put themselves forward as such, offering anything from personal prophecies to dream interpretation & all at a cash price that the sometimes desperate & deceived are all too willing to pay. This is a serious issue. This is a very serious issue.

There are believers who [through no fault of their own] are unable to physically attend Church services. They may be disabled. They may be seriously ill. They may live in isolated areas or countries where there aren’t the same liberties that many of us take for granted here in the West. They cannot skip out of their front door, hop into their car & roll into the Church of their choice. These are not the Christians I’m addressing here. However, while we’re on the subject, I have to tell you that I believe The Lord can & will provide fellowship for those who cannot get to an assembly.

Unfortunately, the internet is a natural go-to-ground for believers who may be in the aforementioned circumstances, desiring fellowship, teaching or the company of other Christians & unless they’re part of a Church with servant-leadership that provides Pastoral visitation & a membership that demonstrates ‘the same care one for another’ (1^stCorinthians 12:25), even though they may not have forsaken the assembly, the assembly may very well have forsaken them. I have known very dear brothers & sisters in Christ who have become systematically discouraged because no one could be bothered to make an effort &   …..anyway, you know what I’m saying. This is a very serious issue. This is a very serious issue indeed.

*Part of my discourse here is covered in a string of blog articles called ‘Will ALL of the REAL Pastors PLEASE Stand Up!’, so I won’t repeat myself. However, I have to add something here that I didn’t say there. The Church has had an unchecked record of failure with certain types of people, while it has heartily embraced other types. This has to change. We must become deeply burdened for those who don’t have fellowship & I believe that burden [in some very small way] reflects Christ’s burden for them. We will be judged. If you know someone who has no Church family & cannot physically attend services, seek them out, visit them, pray with them, share in the Scriptures and break bread with them. I believe this will please The Lord. Iron cannot sharpen itself (Proverbs 27:17).

Do you remember Jesus’ preparedness to go to the house of the Centurion after He had healed a leper? (Matthew 8:5-7). Do you remember His readiness to go to Jairus’ house [after the healing of the woman with the issue of blood] even though news arrived that the girl had died? (Luke 8:50-56). Do you remember The Lord’s willingness to go to heal Lazarus? (John 11:11). As we read through the Gospels we see Jesus going to people who cannot get to Him & we see the friends or family of the incapacitated bringing them to Jesus. He deliberately goes out of His way for people, we must go out of ours. As well as those who cannot physically make it to Church, there are also those who will not go. Specifically, there are some who have stopped attending for reasons which fall anywhere between significant doctrinal deviation & the abuses that we are all too familiar with. Negative experiences, false brethren, Pastoral abuses of authority & bad Church traditions are among serious arguments put forth to me for non-assembly. However, some of us make blanket statements about the Churches we’ve left, statements which [upon investigation] hold less water than an old, broken sieve.

Personally, I believe that there are very few valid reasons for leaving a Church fellowship. Beyond these whys & wherefores, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to remain out of fellowship. Yet on an all too regular basis, I speak to person after person after person who will justify their lack of assembly, whist doing an impression of Han Solo; the hyper-drive is broken & it’s not their fault. Again, the internet becomes their go-to-ground.

This issue has become so utterly entrenched in the thinking of so many believers that I’m convinced it’s an epidemic within The Church.

Disliking a minister’s style or delivery & disagreeing with his sermons, is not tantamount to him being in doctrinal error. Falling out with members of a congregation does not make them false brethren. Being admonished from Scripture concerning personal sin & discipleship is not legalism & SO WHAT if you don’t like the music, no one is worshipping YOU! These are not valid reasons, these are excuses.

These & other sad pretexts are often exaggerated beyond all recognition. Why go to Church when we can simply log on & tune in from the comfort of our beds? With electronic fellowship, we can choose what we want to hear, when we want to hear it & if we don’t like it, we can simply find someone else. Furthermore, non-attendees slowly but surely become armchair critics of The Church, its laity, its leaders & ultimately its Lord. Party spirit begins to take route. One is of Osteen, another of Copeland & another of Hinn.

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables (2^nd Timothy 4:1-4).

This demographic is deceived into thinking that the actual Church can be adequately replaced by a virtual one. This is impossible & again I repeat what I said earlier. I don’t have a problem with The Church or Churches having an online presence. I don’t even have a problem with the use of online Christian resources as supplemental to teaching or as an aid to study or research. I do however, have a huge problem with The Church or Churches who are promoting an online presence as a replacement or substitute for actual fellowship.

If we cannot endure sound doctrine, if we won’t get along with our brethren & if we find it impossible to receive instruction or correction, it is we ourselves who not only have a problem, but eventually become a problem. Leaving fellowship doesn’t solve issues, it creates them. Without other members of the flock around us & a faithful Shepherd over us, we’re open prey. However, pride propels those who believe that they can survive on nothing but YouTube clips & Facebook friendships. It is entirely unbiblical. They have made an enormous error & have failed to recognise the role of The Church in Christian life.

For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves (1^st Thessalonians 5:9-13).

Fellowship brings comfort & edification. It also generates trust in Pastoral oversight. When we’re out there on our own, there is no fellowship, there is no comfort, there is no edification; we’re nothing but fodder. You don’t know those you are following online & they do not know you. No Apostolic writing is ever addressed to individuals who have voluntarily forsaken assembly & removed themselves from Pastoral authority. Viewing a service online is not the same as being in an actual service, much in the same way that watching a film is not the same as being in an actual film. It isn’t even the ‘next best thing’ as some have put it. Christ has prescribed that we fellowship together under the leadership of a Pastor & elders.

Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation (Hebrews 13:7). These are not your Facebook friends. These are your Church elders.

Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you (Hebrews 13:17). These are not your managers at work. These are your Church leaders.

Salute all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy salute you (Hebrews 13:24). These are not your business partners. These are your Pastors.

I used to detest these verses but now I have come to love them & the Pastor that I have. An online ‘ministry’ cannot oversee you, care for you or give an account for you. It can take your money though & if you’re fortunate you’ll get a reply to your emails, but it is not a Church. It is a faceless entity. You can’t submit to the authority of a televangelist. You can’t call on them as elders of The Church (James 5\:14) & you can’t refer to any of them as your Pastor. A sheep on its own is prey (Ezekiel 34:5) & many are being preyed upon on a daily basis because they’re scattered. They are sheep with no Shepherd.

At this stage in conversations, I usually receive a handful of counter arguments such as ‘the fact that I don’t go to church doesn’t mean I’m not a Christian’ or ‘the church is the people, not a building’ & my personal favourite, ‘show me scripture that says I have to go to church’. These arguments are all put forward without any biblical mandate & are therefore pretexts without precedent. If you have left a Church because of serious doctrinal deviancy, that is what you’ll state. If you left because there was unchecked sin or immorality, that is what you’ll state. If you left because the leadership was lycanthropic, that is what you’ll state. You will have a reason, not an excuse. However, if the circumstances under which you left are spurious, you will raise arguments similar to the non-substantive ones I shared at the beginning of this paragraph. The assembling of ourselves together is not about US, it’s about HIM.

There are some who have been genuinely crushed, abused & failed miserably by their former Churches. They need to be restored & healed. The Lord wants to do that for them. It’s unfortunate, but these things do happen. The solution isn’t complete withdrawal because as a wounded member you will become prey. In some respects, your willingness & desire to continue receiving God’s Word via YouTube or some other electronic platform is commendable, but it is not advisable. My heart goes out to you.

Perhaps there are individuals with whom you can fellowship, even if you cannot bring yourself to darken the doors of a Church at the moment.

A pride that is fuelled by arrogance & haughtiness will blind a person to the plain fact of their need for fellowship, especially in these days. However, television ‘ministry’ will rarely tell you this, especially when you’re a donor. You’re welcomed to the broadcast as if you’re a part of their extended family & a member of their Church. What’s the real attraction? Do ‘ministries’ that attract an online audience offer non-attendees something that a local Church doesn’t?

There’s no accountability online. There’s no restriction. There’s no oversight. There’s no reproof, no rebuke & no exhortation. No one is looking over your shoulder. No one is leading or guiding you. There’s little or no discernment. Yet multiplied thousands will sit in front of their computers & watch their favourite teacher instead of making their way to an actual assembly. There’s no challenge. There’s no serving.

We seem to have bought into the lie that the only thing we attend Church services for, is the teaching of The Word of God & because we can now access that 24-7, we don’t think that we actually have to go to Church at all. Even a cursory reading of Scripture will dispel that myth. Our Church attendance is about Him, not us. We may benefit from His Word & His presence; we may benefit from receiving communion & we may benefit from praying one for another, but ultimately we gather together because of Jesus. Anyone who separates themselves from assembly, thinks that assembly is ultimately about them. They are wrong.

As we read through the New Testament & see the internal & external ministry of The Church, any argument for separation is soon put to bed. Those who resist the admonition of Scripture simply do not want to assemble. Whatever they’re learning online makes them more spiritual & knowledgeable than others. They don’t need to go to Church. If they understood The Church in biblical terms & not in the simplistic manner they’ve adopted, they’d see that what they’re actually saying is ‘I don’t have to act as if I’m a part of the body of Christ’. It’s an act of unfaithfulness.

The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: (1^st Peter 5:1-6).

Scripture is abundantly clear about the specific circumstances under which believers are to be outside of fellowship.

Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican (Matthew 18:15-17).

But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one, no, not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person. (1^stCorinthians 5:11-13).

A man that is a heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject; knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself (Titus 3:10-11).

If you are in the habit of forsaking assembly, please return to full fellowship with a body of believers. There are good Churches led by good Pastors. Find one. The world wide web is aptly named & although there are many, many ‘ministries’ available, from which we may cherry pick teaching, they are not Christ’s model. He has set Pastors in The Church to oversee & feed His flock. If you cannot physically make it to an assembly, I pray you’re a part of a fellowship that has visitation & proper Pastoral care. If you’ve been hurt by a Church, I pray that you’re soon healed. If you’re in rebellion because you don’t believe that you have to assemble with other believers, I pray that your internet goes down & someone from a local Church knocks on your door. God bless.

copyright Ó by david Samuel Parkins mmxvi all rights reserved.

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The Church, Joseph Smith & The Latter-Day Saints: Part One - An Introduction

THE CHURCH,

JOSEPH SMITH

& THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS

part one - an introduction

By

David Samuel Parkins

Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates. Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates. For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth (2^ndCorinthians13:5-8).

When Mormon missionaries first came to my door, I was 16 years of age. Our first discussion about belief in the existence of God & the importance of family, was a brief one because I was having my dinner, but they offered to return at another time. I agreed & just over a week later I bumped into the same two young men while I was out witnessing with a friend from my church.

Up until that time, I had neither met nor spoken to a member of the Latter-Day Saints (LDS), although I had often walked past their meeting hall in my native Leicester & had read about the movement from sources outside their church.

While I spoke with these two elders it became clear to me that there were great differences in our beliefs about the nature of God, the way of Salvation, the person & work of The Lord Jesus Christ & the reliability & inspiration of Scripture. Our discussion was the first of many & was more of a congenial Q&A than a debate. However, in fairness I decided to read The Book of Mormon for myself & I was given a copy. At a later date I received copies of their Doctrines & Covenants & their Pearl of Great Price.

The artwork was great. The referencing & layout were traditional & at a glance one might think that they were holding a copy of The Holy Bible. As I began to read however, I found that The Book of Mormon was completely unlike Scripture, even though there are several portions of biblical text dispersed throughout it. Because I use the KJV I wasn’t daunted by their text’s old English, but the differences between The Book of Mormon & The Bible were plain to see. Of course, this raised many natural questions for me, which when asked, went unanswered. I was simply told to ‘pray with a sincere heart & ask God if The Book of Mormon is true’.

Beyond this subjectivism, there were some very basic issues that had to be addressed from history, geography, language, archaeology, theology & anthropology, to name but a few. These things, I contended, go beyond a ‘burning in my bosom’ & I simply wanted to know whether the gospel that the Mormons preached was the same gospel that was preached by The Lord Jesus Christ & His Apostles. Either it is, or it is not.

According to LDS website mormon.org, the 8^th article of Mormon faith states: We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. This is the highest claim that any religious text can make. It is a claim that is made in Scripture, of Scripture.

This being the case therefore, if The Book of Mormon & the text of Scripture are contrawise, we have a problem. If the Jesus Christ of Mormonism & the Jesus Christ of The Bible are not the same person, we have a problem. If the teaching of the LDS is diametrically opposed to the Apostles’ Doctrine, we have a problem.

Mormonism holds that it possesses a restored gospel. Does it? Mormons believe that their text is another testament of Jesus Christ. Is it? The answer is no. My bosom wasn’t burning. With a continued dialogue came a necessary definition of terms, some of which are often taken for granted within the context of received, orthodox Christianity. Within Mormonism however, I found [& still do] that although the same terminology may be employed, something completely different is meant. Again, I had to ask several questions. Again, they went unanswered.

Beyond The Book of Mormon itself were the claims, beliefs, prophesies & teachings of its founder & prophet, Joseph Smith. His Doctrines & Covenants, as well as the Pearl of Great Price are also heralded & revered Mormon texts. However, they beg their own particular brand of questions in the light of historic, orthodox, biblical Judeo-Christian belief & practise. When they are compared one to another, the gulf between Mormon teaching & Apostolic doctrine becomes more & more evident.

If The Book of Mormon & the Mormon faith are restorative of doctrines, truths & practises lost by The Church, there would be documented evidence in history, whether secular or ecclesiastical. These things would have been believed & practised formerly in order for them to be restored. That proof would have its root in the theology of Hebraic Scripture that predates & precedes any Mormon literature. If ancient Semites came to & colonised specific regions in the Americas, there would be evidence of said regions from geography. If those peoples established themselves, reproducing their society, industry & religion including the building of another Temple akin to Solomon’s & engaging in battles on an epic, biblical scale, there would be evidence from archaeology. There would also be anthropological evidence.

These questions & many others arose from my reading of Mormon approved literature that had been given to me by Mormon missionaries, produced by Mormon sources. I didn’t ‘Google it’. There was no internet back in the 1980s.

The most important issue for any man or woman alive today, is not whether they belong to a church or religious organisation. The issue is whether or not they are born again. The doctrine of salvation is the very first that any of us encounter because therein lies the Gospel. Upon hearing the Gospel & its command to repent, any man or woman can receive the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ & His finished work of redemption. This salvation comes by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. However, if any man or woman rejects His free gift, or attempts to attain it by means other than those prescribed by Him, they will be lost eternally.

The truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is laid down in Scripture in its entirety from Genesis to Revelation & it is to this text alone that Christians hold, for it alone is God’s Word.

This being said, I have come to realise more clearly than ever that The Church has been guilty of more than a little lethargy. Some within The Church have also been guilty of the things that they accuse others of. It’s extremely easy for us to agree on the errors of a movement outside of what we claim as orthodoxy. As a matter of fact, it’s easier to do that, than it is for us to agree amongst ourselves concerning what that orthodoxy actually is. However, I must stress that any exercise of honesty [intellectual or otherwise] will force us to consider this fact, otherwise it isn’t honesty at all.

With the seemingly exponential growth of the LDS both within & without, brooding ecumenism on our ecclesiastical horizon & the smudging of historically clear lines of doctrinal demarcation, The Church has got to decide what she’s going to do. Mormonism is not the first gauntlet to have been thrown down at our feet after a systematic slapping of our faces & neither is it the last. In our criticism of it however, we will have to leave the locked theological room we’re hiding in, filled with people with whom we agree & venture out into the real world. We will also have to take our respective elephants with us.

As I have thought, read, studied & prayed along these very lines, employing as much honesty as I could or cared to, a distinct challenge arose for me. Considering an approach to Mormonism isn’t difficult because several controversies present themselves immediately. These are well documented within & without Mormonism’s own historic commentary & their own LDS literature, so delving into their resources & their records for the facts proved the most fruitful course of action. However, herein lies the problem.

I’m not a theologian. I’m not a Bible scholar. I’m not an historian, nor am I an expert. But I can read. As I began to look at the LDS’ claims I slowly realised that the pattern emerging from Mormonism was one that was all too familiar. I had seen it before.

I looked at the prophetic utterances of Joseph Smith. I looked at The Book of Mormon as extra-biblical literature. I looked at their practise of Polygamy. I looked at financial misconduct. I looked at their new & evolving revelations. I looked at their Temple ceremonies. I looked at these things & more besides in the light of Scripture. Yet, the few honest bones within me were still restless. My problem was this; whatever charges we may lay at the door of Mormonism, can equally be laid at ours. It is not a matter of what one is guilty of, but rather, the validity of what we hold & profess to be the truth. I tore my notes up & dropped them into the bin & then began again with one simple question; what is the Gospel?

When I was born-again at the age of 13 I had never read The Bible, neither did I have any idea about Apostolic Doctrine. I knew nothing of Original Sin, Atonement, Grace, Water Baptism, the inspiration of Scripture, the Deity of Christ or the Trinity. I had never heard of eschatology or the Gifts of The Holy Spirit. I knew nothing, but the very first thing that I was told was that I was a sinner. Because of the fall of man in Eden we are all born with a sinful nature & in need of a Saviour. In recognising our sin & turning from it in repentance, we can receive Christ, His forgiveness & eternal life. His completed work in death, burial & resurrection brings mankind salvation. I was convicted of my sinful state & I asked Jesus Christ forgive me. He did. Later on, I obeyed the first commandment of Christ in discipleship & went through believer’s baptism by immersion.

As I read through my Bible & attended my Church fellowship, I began to learn & grow. Whenever the opportunity arose, I preached the same Gospel that had been preached to me. However, other groups that claimed to be Christian were preaching another Gospel & promoting their exclusivity. The Mormons were one such group. When I encountered two of their missionaries in 1984, I realised just how different their version of the Gospel was.

In my zeal I took to reading books. I had been listening to Trans World Radio [which broadcast out of Monte Carlo at the time] & had come across Dr. Walter Martin’s ministry, so I wrote to him. He sent several free books & other materials to me from California, so I dove straight in. I read Dr. Martin’s book The Maze of Mormonism as well as Gordon Fraser’s Joseph & the Golden Plates. Both books were armed with classic objections to Mormon doctrine, belief & practise, but neither of them [nor subsequent books that I have read] answer the question that my intellectual honesty was asking.

At this point, my Reformed friends accuse me of drifting away into a field of enquiry that’s purely philosophical & my Pentecostal friends begin to worry that I’m beginning to believe what I’m reading. Neither case is correct.

Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ (Jude vss.3-4).

There is practically no use in beginning to try & reason with a Mormon from The Bible, because they don’t read or believe it. To them, it is a corrupted book. Despite what the 8^th article of their faith states, I can assure you that their regard for Holy Scripture is existent in word only. It is The Book of Mormon & the teachings of Joseph Smith that they revere. What’s equally sad is the fact that Christians I speak to have little or no love of Scripture either. We often struggle to adequately defend the Apostolic Doctrine that we claim to hold dear & yet Mormons defend theirs tooth & nail.

The challenge for The Church is two-fold. In the first place, we have to defend the faith once delivered to the saints. This is not a specialised ministry for an anointed few. It is the responsibility of all believers, everywhere. In the second place, we have to receive a firm grounding in what we believe, from the reliability of Scripture right through to our view of eschatology. The reason for this is quite simple. The Lord will bring people out of the LDS & He will want to send them somewhere. Will He send them to you? Will He send them to me? What if a Mormon becomes a Jehovah’s Witness, a Seventh Day Adventist or an atheist simply because we fail in our responsibility?

For all of our big talk about the apostasy afoot in these last days, for all of our protestations about false teachers & their false teaching & for all of our pleading with The Lord to hear our cry & heal our land, for souls to be saved & for revival fire to fall once more, the truth of the matter continues to stare us in the face continually; what is the Gospel we claim to believe? If you have a minute, go and put the kettle on & make yourself a cup of tea. Grab yourself a handful of Custard creams if you have some & let me ask you a couple of questions. Answer them honestly.

The common salvation that Jude speaks of is just that. We have it in common as believers in Christ. The faith once delivered to the saints is just that. It has been delivered once & for all. Yet throughout the history of The Church both ancient & modern, other ways of salvation & other Gospels have presented themselves as the truth & these counterfeits have often been embraced with little or no question, by a church that prides itself on its faithfulness & authenticity. Evil men have crept in unawares, dressed in sheep’s clothing & while we have pointed the finger at others without, we have tolerated the same evil men within our own ranks. I have to ask you a question; which gospel have you believed? I also have to ask; which Jesus are you following? Is it the Christ of Mormonism or The Lord Jesus Christ of Scripture.

As you sip your tea & dunk your biscuit, I want you to consider something quite important. As willing as we are to acknowledge the fact that the Jesus Christ of Mormonism is not the Jesus Christ of Scripture, are we equally as willing to address the Jesus Christ of Pentecostalism or of the Word-of-Faith movement & of the broader Charismatic systems of belief? These are questions that I had to answer. As we read through the Old Testament Scriptures, study the record of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John & the Apostolic writings of the New Testament, we have a very clear picture of the Gospel. Yet just as the Galatians were soon moved away from their initial faith in Christ, to another Gospel (Galatians1:6), so also have so many of us drifted doctrinally & found ourselves in uncharted, unbiblical & unorthodox waters. What is the Gospel?

When I read through the differing accounts of Joseph Smith’s first vision in a grove of trees near to his parents’ home in New York, where God the Father & The Lord Jesus Christ are meant to have appeared to & spoken with him, I have only two possibilities in my unbelief of his account. Either option is completely tenable to me because neither option bears the hallmark of truth that the Gospel does; Joseph Smith was lying or his experience was demonic in its origin. Mormon website lds.org states ‘When Joseph Smith was 14 years old, he wanted to know which church he should join, so he asked God in sincere prayer. In response to this prayer, God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph and told him the true Church of Jesus Christ was not on the earth and They had chosen Joseph to restore it.’ (https://www.lds.org/topics/joseph-smith/testimony?lang=eng).

Where did The Church go? Where were the believers in Christ? Do you really mean to tell me that there were absolutely no Christians whatsoever on the face of the earth? Really? Well, that was Joseph Smith’s claim. The movements & denominations present at the time of his vision [some of which are still present today] were false by all accounts, most certainly by his.

When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist; some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ (Matthew16:13-20).

Jesus gives no indication of a waning or dwindling of His Kingdom, into apparent nothingness. As a matter of fact, He clearly states that the gates of hell [which are Jewish metaphor for death] would not prevail against The Church. If Joseph Smith’s claim is true, it would mean that Jesus Christ failed to do what He said He would do; He failed in the building of His Church. The gates of hell prevailed against it. Oh by the way, remember to keep reading through the passage because some would have us believe that Jesus was speaking ‘spiritually’ here. He was not, He was definitely speaking concerning The Church on the Earth, hence His delegation of authority in binding & loosing. On Earth, as it is in heaven.

Again, lds.org tells us [that] ‘Throughout history, the Lord’s people have often fallen into a state of wickedness and spiritual darkness known as “apostasy.” This happened while the Apostles were still alive and supervising the young, growing Church. Some members taught ideas from their old beliefs instead of the simple truths taught by Jesus. Some rebelled openly. In addition, there was persecution from outside the Church. Church members were tortured and killed for their beliefs. One by one, the Apostles were killed or otherwise taken from the earth. Because of wickedness and apostasy, the apostolic authority and priesthood keys were taken from the earth. Because of these events, the organization that Jesus Christ had established no longer existed, and confusion resulted. More and more error crept into Church doctrine, and soon the dissolution of the Church was complete. The period of time following the death of Christ’s Apostles, when the true Church no longer existed on the earth, is called the Great Apostasy. This period lasted for many centuries.’(https://www.lds.org/topics/church-organization/the-church-of-jesus-christ?lang=eng).

Of course, we would raise objections to those claims, citing them as impossible because they’re unbiblical. Only when The Church is caught away to meet The Lord in the air will there be no church on the Earth. We will readily spring to the defence of the truth of the Gospel against a Mormon claim & yet when we exercise some honesty we will see that there is more than a little of this very same trash blowing around our own backyard.

While I would certainly agree that Smith’s claims are without any biblical foundation whatsoever, I would also have to make the same statement concerning the claims of ministers within our own ranks. Just as in the case of Joseph Smith, these men are either lying, or their experiences are demonic in their origin. Neither do their anecdotes bear the hallmarks of the Gospel. However, we take up stones against Joseph Smith & his fancifully false doctrine, but take up offerings for our favourite televangelists, with their equally false & fanciful tales.

It is not the validity or invalidity of an experience that will determine the truth, but rather, it is the truth that will determine the authenticity of the claims of any man or woman making them. This is the litmus test.

And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come (Matthew24:3-14).

The Lord seems to have skipped the part about The Church disappearing from the earth & eventually being restored. Some have even suggested that His words concerning the destruction of the Temple are a metaphor for the destruction of The Church. However, even if that were so, He said nothing about said Temple being restored. The New Testament tells us exactly where the temple is now & it is not a physical building. It is The Church.

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are (1^stCorinthians3:16-17).

Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit (Ephesians3:19-22).

To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ (1^stPeter2:4-5).

But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end (Hebrews3:6).

The restoration of The Church to the Earth by Mormonism has no Scriptural foundation whatsoever & neither does any claim to their possessing the fulness of the Gospel. Yet when men within our ranks have come forward with their visions of Christ & revelations given to them by angels they suffer little or no scrutiny, even though their testimony of these things is no less wild & no more biblical than that of Joseph Smith. Certain parts of The Church suspend all discernment, critical thought & common sense in their judgement in order to embrace whatever fashion or fad presents itself & as a result of this, not only do they fail in their attempt to identify the real Gospel of Jesus Christ, but they also, by default propagate a false one.

The following is a short history of the restoration of the priesthood from lds.org.

The following outline summarizes a few of the important events in the restoration of the gospel and the establishment of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which the Lord has declared is “the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth” (D&C 1:30).

Early spring, 1820. Seeking the true Church of Jesus Christ, 14-year-old Joseph Smith prayed in a grove of trees near his home in Palmyra, New York. In answer to his humble prayer, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ visited him and told him that he must not join any of the churches on the earth at that time. (See Joseph Smith—History 1:11-19.) In the Church we refer to this experience as Joseph Smith's First Vision.

September 21-22, 1823. Joseph Smith was visited by an angel named Moroni. Moroni prophesied of coming events and told Joseph of the Book of Mormon record, written on plates of gold. The angel allowed Joseph to see the gold plates, which were buried in the nearby Hill Cumorah. (See Joseph Smith—History 1:27-53.)

September 22, 1827. Joseph Smith received the gold plates from Moroni at the Hill Cumorah after having met with Moroni on 22 September of each of the previous four years. (See Joseph Smith—History 1:53, 59.)

May 15, 1829. Having read about baptism for the remission of sins as they worked on the translation of the gold plates, Joseph Smith and his scribe Oliver Cowdery went to a secluded area to inquire of the Lord concerning the matter. There, on the banks of the Susquehanna River near Harmony, Pennsylvania, they received the answer to their prayer. John the Baptist, a resurrected being, came to them as “a messenger from heaven . . . in a cloud of light.” He conferred upon them the Aaronic Priesthood. Then, in obedience to his instructions, Joseph and Oliver baptized each other and ordained each other to the Aaronic Priesthood. (See Joseph Smith—History 1:68-72; see also D&C 13.)

May 1829. The ancient Apostles Peter, James, and John conferred the Melchizedek Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. (See D&C 128:20.)

June 1829. Guided “by the gift and power of God” (D&C 135:3), the Prophet Joseph Smith completed the translation of the Book of Mormon.

March 26, 1830. The first printed copies of the Book of Mormon became available in Palmyra, New York.

April 6, 1830. The Church was organized in Fayette Township, New York, beginning with six members.

March 27, 1836. The Kirtland Temple, the first temple built in this dispensation, was dedicated. The Prophet Joseph Smith offered the dedicatory prayer, which had been given to him by revelation. (See D&C 109.)

April 3, 1836. The Saviour appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple. Moses, Elias, and Elijah also appeared and gave priesthood keys to Joseph and Oliver. Elijah brought the keys of the sealing power, which make it possible for families to be sealed together forever. (See D&C 110.)

(https://www.lds.org/topics/restoration-of-the-gospel?lang=eng).

Thumb through your Bible at your leisure & highlight the obvious errors within the above claims. There are many. However, are we going to hold the leading lights within Pentecostalism & The Charismatic Movement to the same [or indeed a higher] standard also? When we run out of stones to throw there is one issue that stands alone & it is the issue of the Gospel. Which Gospel have you believed?

For some mistaken & misguided souls, this is not a big deal. However, when we look at Scripture we find a completely different picture painted there. It is a big deal brethren, it’s a very big deal indeed, because it cost Jesus Christ His life & blood. Remember, it is not the validity or invalidity of an experience that will determine the truth, but rather, it is the truth that will determine the authenticity of the claims of any man or woman making them. Anything greater than, lesser than or other than the Gospel laid down in Scripture, is a false Gospel. This is regardless of a similarity in terminology, history, ideology, dogma or practise. This is also regardless of whether dissenters are within or without The Church. The issue is, which Gospel have you believed?

As I look at Mormonism & its many claims, I know that I cannot accept them as the truth, but if I’m honest I have to admit that I see very similar trends towards error in The Church also. The Gospel & the Jesus Christ of Mormonism are not that of Scripture, even though it’s claimed that they are. But I can tell you equally that The Gospel & Jesus Christ put forth by some parts of The Church are not that of Scripture either.

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy Scriptures,) concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: by whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: (Romans1:1-6).

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures: and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: after that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time (1^stCorinthians15:1-8).

The Gospel we have believed, that we are to preach & which we are to defend, is clearly revealed to us in The Bible. This is the Gospel of which Paul was unashamed (Romans1:15-17). The Gospel is a traceable, biblical reality. Notice that Paul identifies the fact that [concerning the Gospel] God ‘had promised afore by his prophets in the holy Scriptures’ & that Christ died, was buried & has been raised from the dead ‘according to the scriptures’. The Gospel is not simply contained in the accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John. Neither is it mysteriously tucked away in the Apostolic writings from Romans to Jude, waiting to be discovered & teased out through new & special revelation. The Gospel is declared throughout the entirety of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation (Hebrews4:2).

What did Jesus mean when He said ‘The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it’ (Luke16:16)? What did The Lord mean when He stated ‘And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come’ (Matthew24:14)? This is the Gospel we are to embrace. The Gospel that is revealed in Scripture, the Gospel that the prophets spoke of, the Gospel that Jesus preached & the Gospel from which the Apostles derived their Christology & doctrine.

We can rightly & readily identify a false Gospel that is removed from our orthodox beliefs as long as it is somewhere over there, down the road, around the corner or far away. However, having failed to see the proverbial wood for the trees, some have permitted perversions of the Gospel to be planted, succoured & cultivated within The Church.

When presented with Joseph Smith’s teaching which states [that] ‘God Himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by His power, was to make Himself visible,—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; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image and likeness of God, and received instruction from, and walked, talked and conversed with Him, as one man talks and communes with another’, we quite rightly reject this as the outright heresy that it most certainly & obviously is. (https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-joseph-smith/chapter-2?lang=eng&_r=1). Yet when a prominent Christian minister declares ‘a being that stands somewhere around 6’2” or 6’3”, that weighs somewhere in the region of a couple of hundred pounds’, has a span that’s 9” across, stood up & said light be & this universe situated itself & went into motion’, it doesn’t suffer the same violent biblical scrutiny. In fact, it’s readily accepted with open arms & relatively little or no opposition (https://youtu.be/mPUCL5qDmkM).

Brigham Young, successor to Joseph Smith said ‘Now hear it, O inhabitants of the earth, Jew and Gentile, Saint and sinner! When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him. He helped to make and organize this world. He is MICHAEL, the Archangel, the ANCIENT OF DAYS! about whom holy men have written and spoken − HE is our FATHER and our GOD, and the only God with whom WE have to do’ (Journal of Discourses 1:50 − p.51, Brigham Young, April 9, 1852). Young goes on to proclaim that Jesus Christ was not begotten of The Holy Spirit. Again, I doubt that many among us would fail to recognise this as thoroughly unbiblical & yet there are many among us who tolerate an Adam-God teaching that’s put forward as a revelation (https://youtu.be/ia1SMTxQMJ0). Where is our defence against the same heresy being perpetuated in our own midst? Brethren, what is the truth? What is the Gospel? (Romans1:16).

LDS Bishop Gerald N. Lund states, ‘But, some explain, spiritual death is another matter. In the Garden of Gethsemane, the Saviour took upon himself the sins of the world and suffered for all mankind. His suffering provides redemption, but its application to each of us is not unconditional. Men must do things to have the redemption operate in their behalf’. Did you catch that? Gethsemane is where Jesus took sin upon Himself? Lund continues, ‘Some might assume, for example, that we believe Christ’s death on the cross covered only the effects of physical death and that his suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane covered only the effects of spiritual death. But the scriptures make it clear that Christ’s agony in the garden and his suffering and death on the cross were all integral parts of the atoning sacrifice’ (https://www.lds.org/ensign/1990/01/the-fall-of-man-and-his-redemption?lang=eng#pop_001-90901_000_006).

In response to an erroneous statement like this, our doctrine points directly to the finished work of Christ on the cross, but there are men within The Church who commit the same error right under our orthodox noses. Where is our outrage? Where is our resistance? Where is our response? Where is our Gospel? Word-of-Faith practitioner Frederick K.C. Price states that it was in Gethsemane that Jesus ‘died spiritually’, before he went to Calvary & thus it was in the garden that he was made to be sin. This doctrinal aberration has been swallowed by millions of Pentecostals & Charismatics, who pick up stones against the heresies of Mormonism while believing equally false doctrine themselves. We recoil in horror at the Mormon belief that Jesus Christ is the spirit brother of satan, but we are willing to take on the teaching that Jesus became one with satan in nature & suffered in hell in order to achieve our salvation (https://youtu.be/kMpzmsTFyVU).

The list goes on & on & on. Along these lines, I would heartily recommend a very informative book entitled The Bible. I would also recommend Joseph Smith & the Word of Faith Movement written by Jerry Stokes.

Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but, by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2^ndCorinthians4:1-6).

copyright Ó by david Samuel Parkins mmxvi all rights reserved.

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