Cultivation A

Heart of the Matter: Where Mormonism Meets Biblical Christianity

Welcome to "LIVE FROM THE MECCA OF MORMONISM," broadcasting from Salt Lake City, Utah. This is Heart of the Matter, where Mormonism meets Biblical Christianity, face to face. I'm your host, Shawn McCraney. We praise the True and Living God for allowing us to participate in this ministry. May He be with you (and us) tonight. Heart of the Matter can be seen right now from anywhere in the world via streaming video. You can also go to our archives and watch ANY past program. All of this is available by going to www.hotm.tv.

Supporting Salt Lake Rescue Mission

Join us as we seek to support the Salt Lake Rescue Mission, who feeds and clothes the homeless. How can you help? Bring new socks (the ones still wrapped in the bags) and new or “nearly new” winter coats for males or females to the station between 9am and 3pm M-F. We will take them in bulk over to the mission. So far, we have had great success with a number of people even going out and buying new coats for the less fortunate. Praise Him.

We hold church deconstructed every Sunday (God willing) at 10 am in a Gathering called MILK and at 2:30 pm in a Gathering we call MEAT. Child-care is available at the 10 am gathering only. Expect the teaching to be at the Milk and the Meat level. Want more info? Go to www.c-a-m-p-u-s.com. Also on Sundays, you can hear replays of Heart of the Matter on AM 820 the Truth! An excellent Christian radio station here in Utah.

New Television Program and Publications

We’re producing a brand new television program called “the Ex-Files.” It’s hosted by Bishop Earl and will begin to air in February of 2012. It’s a half-hour interview show, and we need people who were once LDS and are now Christian to come on air and share their story. Interested? Go to www.exmormonfiles.tv and sign up. We’ll be in touch.

Well, we have some really good news and some somewhat bad news. First, the bad news – ready? We have sold out of A to Z for a second time, and we have a third printing being done as we speak. Now the good news. “Where Mormonism Meets Biblical Christianity Face to Face” has been picked up by one of the largest distributors of Christian books in the nation, and it will be available come March of this year in most Christian bookstores around the nation. These will be hardback with a dust jacket and priced less than the first three soft-back printings. This is what happens with economies of scale and supply and demand. If you want one of the soft-back third prints, they are in stock in a limited number at Lifeway Christian Books on State Street in Murray and through us for a limited time at www.hotm.tv.

Additionally, check out www.hotm.tv as we have added a number of new video products produced through Sourceflix. These include "A Mormon President," right at www.hotm.tv.

Born-Again Discussions

Alright, how about a moment, “From the Word?” Over the years, and nearly every week in between, we receive an email or letter asking: “What is the best approach to reaching the LDS?” Admittedly, there are many, and admittedly, they all seem to work depending on the person. But overall, I am personally committed to the idea that the best general way to dialogue with the LDS is to talk about being born-again. In fact, I am so committed to this idea that the ministry started out with a book called, “Born-again Mormon” and a website of the same name. The method essentially consists of asking an LDS person if they have been born-again.

Where does this phrase even come from? Well tonight, in our casual reading of the Word, we come upon the most popular and well-known teaching on the subject – though the notion of rebirth is found all over the New and Old testaments. Walk with me through John chapter three beginning at verse one . . .

John 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, “Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher

The Necessity of Spiritual Rebirth

come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.”

3 Jesus answered and said unto him, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Let’s take note of a couple of simple things here. First, the man Nicodemus, was a seeker of truth, coming to Jesus by night presumably to visit the Lord under the cover of the night air. And Nicodemus opens the dialogue with a profession – “We know you are a teacher come from God” – nobody could do what you have done unless God is with him.”

Now notice Jesus does not respond here to the comment made by Nicodemus. He just says, almost as if from the blue: “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Comparison with Mormon Doctrine

In our comparison and contrast with Mormonism, Jesus brings up an interesting point. Mormonism teaches that all mankind comes to earth as a child of God. This is because we all came from God as His spirit children. And while the Book of Mormon does teach about what it calls “a mighty change” rebirth, played out in Mormonism is viewed more as the process of sanctification.

See, Mormons believe that at eight years of age you make baptismal covenants, and water baptism washes away sin by and through the atonement of Jesus Christ. Week after week, as a faithful Mormon attends sacrament meeting, they renew the covenants they made at their water baptism, partake of Mormon blessed bread and water, and this serves (in some sense) to rebaptize the individual by renewing their baptismal covenants, thus making them sanctified before God in a processional way. In other words, this Mormon doctrine and practice is what they believe Jesus was teaching to Nicodemus here.

But step back with me and think a minute. Nicodemus comes to Jesus by night, seeking truth, expresses belief in Jesus at least being sent by God and Jesus gives the man an imperative – You MUST be born again. From a Christian standpoint, which is the biblical standpoint, this means the first birth is meaningless in terms of salvation. Why? Because all people are not born children of God as Mormonism teaches but are born in sin –because the Fall was not good but evil.

Jesus' Message to Nicodemus

And coming to Jesus, Nicodemus is essentially informed by our Lord that His being a Pharisee, a truth seeker, a supporter of Jesus as being from God is not enough – Nicodemus has to be given new life, a new heart, a new spirit – because the first one is NO GOOD. He must be born again. And if this rebirth was a process, like receiving water baptism and then taking a bread and water sacrament to renew baptismal covenants, then Jesus would not have used the term Born again – He would have said

“I tell you Nicodemus you must be dutiful and consistent.”
“I tell you Nicodemus you must progress in personal sanctification.”
“I tell you you must build upon how you came into this world.”

But no. He said, “You must be born again.” And spiritual rebirth, is just like physical birth – it happens. It is not strung out over the life of a person. It happens when a person sees themselves for what they are (sinful) and sees God for who He is (holy) and they throw themselves on His mercy willing to receive His will and spirit for their lives, and NOT to operate or build upon their own original selves.

Next week, we’ll talk about how Nicodemus responds. And with that let’s have a word of prayer.

PRAYER PRAYER PRAYER PRAYER

PRAYER PRAYER PRAYER PRAYER

Two

The Role of Oliver Cowdery in the Production of the Book of Mormon

Weeks ago we introduced a character who I suggest contributed a tremendous amount of information, structure and insight into the production called “The Book of Mormon.” His name: Oliver Cowdery from Vermont.

Prior to Cowdery coming on the scene in April of 1829, Joseph Smith had laboriously produced 116 pages of text with the help of one Martin Harris and his supportive wife Emma. These first pages were lost or stolen. Somewhere between two and three months later, a humble Joseph said God told him he could commence translating the book again. From September of 1828 to meeting Oliver Cowdery in April of 1829 we are unsure of what the self-proclaimed prophet actually produced on his own. The LDS claim it wasn’t much – which may or may not be true. But it may also have been another hundred pages – we just don’t know. But what we do know is when Cowdery joined Smith and began to act as “scribe,” the book, a minimum of six years in the making, literally sped toward completion. The LDS use the date when Oliver Cowdery showed up to help as the starting date for the translation of the Book of Mormon but as we have said in the past, this was ANYTHING but the start of the formation of that book.

Oliver Cowdery's Background and Connections

There are some substantive facts every investigator into Mormonism needs to know about Mr. Oliver Cowdery, who would wind up being one of the “witnesses” of the golden plates. He was a relative of Joseph Smith and was actually living with Joseph’s Father and Mother in New York prior to joining Smith as a scribe in Pennsylvania. I say this because many Mormons have been led to believe that Old Oliver just happened to show up at Joseph’s door one day. Not so. There is evidence, in fact, that collusion between Joseph and Oliver could have existed for years prior to his appearing at Joseph Smith’s house. Joseph claimed “God told him” in a revelation to stop translating the BOM until “one sent” (who would end up to be Oliver Cowdery) would arrive to help him complete the work he was given to do. I would suggest that Joseph was in contact with Oliver through his parents and they had a plan for Oliver to get out there and help Joseph finish the book. Why Cowdery?

Shared Interests and Connections

First, the Cowdery’s shared a common “world view” as their relatives, the Smith’s – meaning both families and both men (Joseph and Oliver) had interest and skill in folk magic arts. Joseph in staring into peep stones and Oliver being divinely lead by divining rods. Secondly, Cowdery and his family came from an area where Joseph Smith’s father also hailed and it is believed the families were not only related, but actually knew each other back in the day in Vermont.

Listen closely folks. Oliver Cowdery and his family attended a Congregational church back in Vermont and the pastor of this church was the AUTHOR – the author – the author of a fictional but scintillating book titled, View of the Hebrews. This book contained many of the very same themes Joseph ultimately included in his Book of Mormon and we will devote no small amount of time showing you these comparisons in the weeks and months to come. This fact is so circumstantially powerful it is hard to NOT see the collusion between Cowdery and Smith from then get go.

Additionally, early Mormon documents, as pointed out by Grant Palmer in his Insider’s View of Mormon Origins, show that Oliver Cowdery claimed that he saw (in vision) the golden plates Joseph had unearth well before he ever came to serve as scribe. To me, this is another evidence there was collusion between the men, if not at least the two families.

Think about this.

Strip away the “miraculous” garbage people have been fed and just consider the facts – that’s how you determine a con . . . remove the hype and look at what is standing there naked in front of you. In this case we have two distant relatives, whose fathers shared the same stomping grounds, who were both practitioners in the dark arts of folk-magic, who were both familiar and interested in the popular myth that the American Indians came from the Hebrews, and then one of them claims to have an ancient gold record and the other becomes his scribe to produce it. Gimme a break, folks. A mean really?

Really?

Anyway, on April 7th of 1829, Joseph and his new “scribe,” sat down.

The Translation Process of the Book of Mormon

To complete, compile, or essentially cultivate, “The Bok of Mormonion.” Because it ends up that Oliver and Joseph actually produced the Book of Mormon in their time together, let’s talk about how the process of translation occurred between them.

David Whitmer, another witness of the plates and good friend of Oliver Cowdery, said this about the process:

“At times when Joseph would attempt to translate, he would look into the hat in which the stone was placed and he would find he was spiritually blind and could not translate. He told us his mind dwelt too much on earthly things, and various causes would make him incapable of proceeding with the translation. When in this condition he would GO OUT and PRAY, and when he became sufficiently humble before God, he would then proceed with the translation.” (An Address to all Believers in Christ, Whitmer, page 30)

Taking walks or doing something similar is totally normative when a person is writing. We all get writers block. So it is completely understandable for Joseph to have taken such walks to “clear his head.” But strip away the miraculous from this tale and what do we have? A man composing a book. Bit by bit. He’s worked on the outline for YEARS, YEARS FOLKS – He’s had plenty of time to flesh out the themes, but even then it takes effort to keep everything together. Could it be his walks were to refine his outline and not merely a result of his lacking a focus on the things of God? I would say yes. Absolutely.

Witness Accounts and Methods

So Joseph, the author of the Book of Mormon, and Oliver, who we might assign the title of senior editor as well as scribe, worked. At this point the props of the Urim and Thummim are gone. The blanket separating Joseph from others is gone. The plates? Gone – actually never really there. Every witnesses to the translation process from early 1828 till the book was completed in 1829, including . . . Joseph’s wife Emma, His father in law Isaac Hale, Witness David Whitmer, Witness Martin Harris, and witness Oliver Cowdery . . . . . . reported (without exception) that Joseph translated the entirely of the Book of Mormon by looking into a hat at a stone he found while digging a well in 1822.

Why is this a problem?

Besides the obvious, Joseph Smith himself said he “translated The Book of Mormon in its entirety with the aid of . . . the Urim and Thummim. This is the story most LDS people believe relative to the translation process.

In 1842, some twelve years after the publication of The Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith himself said:

(Listen)

“With the records was found a curious instrument which the ancients called ‘Urim and Thummim,’ which consisted of two transparent stones set in the rim of a bow fastened to a breastplate. Through the Urim and Thummim I translated the record by the gift and power of God.” (Times and Seasons vol. 3 no. 9 page 707)

Joseph Smith's Historical Revisions

Did Joseph Smith lie? Without question, he lied. Right here. In print, providing the world with pure fiction. Why would he write this in 1842, claiming that it was through the instruments included in the stone box when this is nowhere near the truth? He was clearing up his history. I would suggest that by 1842 Joseph could not believe or fathom the amount of people who both believed in him or his stories. I would suggest that the facts that associated him with folk-magic were a danger to him, to his increasing presence as a prophet so he sought to do all he could to re-write his personal story so the masses would forever be in the dark about how that book was produced.

This situation Joseph faced may have played a small part in why the Mormons we always moving . . . always trying to distance themselves from the populace. Jim Jones, a man with a strange child and teen history, once he established some popularity in his home community as a religious leader of love, moved his followers to the Bay Area of California – to put distance between the facts of his childhood and his present state of honor. And when things got hot there in the Bay Area, he moved his group even further away, all the way to a little place called . . . Guyana. Leaders and groups who seek to trick and fool and control – from fathers who want to dominate their family to charismatic cult leaders – almost always strive to remain moved.

Examination of Mormonism

If Joseph Smith popped up today, teaching and claiming the very same things he taught and claimed when he was alive, he would look exactly – exactly, like Warren Jeffs. And those who would follow him would look exactly like those who have followed Jeff’s. Joseph’s Mormonism is Jeff’s Mormonism. And Salt Lake Mormonism is Mormonism too – just more polished and adept at obscuring the truth.

It all started with Joseph Smith, a man who lied and deceived. And from the seed grows the tree. And from the tree comes the fruit. And from the fruit falls the seed . . . and on, and on, and on.

Audience Engagement

Let’s open up da phonius lineous’s- es – es/

801 973-8820
801 973-tv20

We love LDS callers. We want first time callers. And no consuming large quantities of alcohol or drugs before making the call.

Support and Gratitude

Our ability to stay on the air is in direct relation to your support. Let me say thank you to all of you for what you do on behalf of this ministry.

There are people who give large sums of money and people who give small – we thank you. There are people who pray, and pray, and pray for us constantly – we thank you. There are people who are Alathea Ambassadors, volunteers, people who literally give thirty, forty hours a week to keep it going.

We thank you and praise God for your heart and hands. We are entering into the decade of the Mormon. If there was ever a time to stand it is now because more and more will be influenced by its powerful dark light.

Show www.hotm.tv here

Show our address here too

Show our phone number here too.

Newsletter reading here

Headlines of Huntsman bailing here

Emails here