Praise the Lord. God blessed us again as we were out in God’s harvest. Over at the Salt Lake City Temple in Utah, during General Conference, we were led to talk to so many people. Particularly, we talked with a group of young adults and missionaries about the importance of the cross and another young gentleman for quite a long time as well. Both conversations went amazingly well. With the youth and the missionaries, we approached them with insightful questions and they were all excited to respond each time. Each one of them participated in the discussion, which was great. The thing that was real cool was how intently they were listening. Our discussion started with the cross and how Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross. I then asked them if that meant anything to them. Which many responded positively and began to think about it in a new way. Because His blood can cover us and cleanse us from all sin, we can be forgiven. We also mentioned that after Jesus died, the temple veil was torn in half. That was when the last animal sacrifice ended and people were no longer separated from God but now had full access to Him. At the same time, the need for temples ended as this is what Stephen taught before he was stoned to death. Instead, it was taught that we are now the temple of God and that God no longer dwells in temples made with hands. Some of them, at this point, were on the fence and had a hard time believing this, though the Bible is clear on this topic. We talked more about this and why the cross and the resurrection go hand in hand like in baptism.
After ending our conversation with the youth, Patrick and I continued our conversation with the missionaries. At this point, I asked them a few questions regarding the Book of Mormon. These questions were… Why does the Book of Mormon teach that the people were covered by the blood of Jesus around 124 B.C? Why does it say that David and Solomon’s wives were abominable to God in the Book of Mormon when the Doctrine and Covenants says that God justified it and then allowed polygamy in the Mormon Church? Why is it that God cursed the white people of the Book of Mormon and caused them to have black skin when the God of the Bible doesn’t care about the outside appearance? Lastly, I asked why the deacons of the Bible were married to one wife, when the supposed restored church has non married deacons, even at the age of 12? With each of these questions were raised, the missionary, I spoke with, had no answer and said he would have to do his own research. He understood my questions and concerns and at the same time didn’t understand why the Mormon Church would still believe or teach the way they do. It was amazing to talk with him and share the truth of God. As God was leading the conversation, there were many seeds planted in this man’s heart.
Lastly, Patrick and I met up with another young man named Patrick, who was Christian. He also had great intentions to find the lost and share the truth of God. For that reason, we were happy to have him join us. Minutes later, I saw this young man walking my direction. It was that moment that the Holy Spirit directed me to speak to him. So I stopped him by asking him a question about the cross. And much like the last conversation, he also listened but with even more intent. As points were brought up, he paid close attention and always responded with an answer and then a follow-up question. After explaining that the Bible teaches that Jesus paid for our sins on the cross and not Gethsemane he wanted to understand why. So, we explained that when Jesus was in Gethsemane and it is referenced Him sweating “as it were” great drops of blood, it was just that, a metaphor. This was not a reference to sin at all. He simply was under pressure and sweat, while in that moment in prayer. We also explained how the Bible teaches in 1 Corinthians 15:1-6 that the gospel is that Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected the third day. That helped him understand that the payment for sin was during Jesus’s death, while on the cross. Therefore, that was the place of His atoning sacrifice for sins.
Our conversation with this young man continued for two and half hours. In that time, we mentioned many holes in Mormonism. #1. The Book of Abraham is proven false and an LDS Essay even mentions that as well. #2. Deacons are supposed to be married, according to Paul. #3. Jesus was born in Bethlehem and not Jerusalem, as the Book of Mormon teaches. #4. We cannot become Gods as the Mormons believe. #5 There is no marriage in heaven according to the Matthew and Mark’s account from Jesus. #6. The one man Prophet show was fulfilled with John, and now we all can have the gift of prophesy, but with Jesus leading us. #7. God does not dwell in Temples made with hands as we are now called the Temple of God. We mentioned more things as well and each of his questions led to another topic such as what I listed above. During the conversation, he was able to understand the points we were making. However, when we asked about him leaving the Mormon Church, he said that he could not, for He would be apostatizing from the one true church. Even if certain things are proven false and are wrong, he still could not leave it. On that point, we asked him if he had the free will to walk away from what is false and he said he could not. He had to follow what the prophet says, no matter what. Near the end, we asked him if he would at least think about everything we talked about. In which he said he would. We also friended each other on Facebook, in order to stay in contact. Before leaving, we hugged and then went our way.
Surely, the Lord God was with us tonight. Even though the people we met didn’t fully leave what is false behind, so many seeds were planted. Not only in the people I mentioned hearts, but also the people that heard the preaching earlier in the day and the other people we stopped and talked to. The homeless also saw our love, as we stopped and gave them food and water. As we saw a need, God led us to fill it. It was a wonderful day indeed. God be praised.
