Focus on Mormonism and Biblical Christianity

Events and Announcements

“LIVE FROM THE MECCA OF MORMONISM”

• SALT LAKE CITY UTAH –

This is Heart of the MatterTGNN’s original show where Shawn McCraney deconstructed religion and developed fulfilled theology., where Mormonism Meets Biblical Christianity, face to face. Show 33 BOM 55 Peeling the Onion I August 14th 2012

And I’m Shawn McCraneyFounder of TGNN and developer of the fulfilled perspective—calling people to faith outside of religion., your host. We praise the True and Living God for allowing us to participate in this ministry. May He be with you (and us) tonight.

First of all – FRIDAY NIGHTS . . . 8pm . . . right here on TV20 tune in as Bishop Earl interviews people who were once LDS and are now born-again Christians. The name of the show? The Ex-Files. Want to be interviewed. Email Bishop Earl at www.mormonexfiles.tv

Second of All – SUNDAYS – Two things: We hold church “deconstructed” every Sunday. 10am MILK 2:30 MEAT Go to www.c-a-m-p-u-s.com for more information. AM 820 replays Heart of the Matter every Sunday from 1 to 2.

THIRD – and this is big and important and really requires all of you. Don’t be lazy . . .

Burning Heart 2012

Saturday September 1st from 3-9pm Murray Park Amphitheater

Lot’s of food, fun, bounce houses, face painting, great products for sale . . . THEN

We’re holding a battle for the best worship band in Utah for 2012.

Call 385-282-3350 for more information

After that we’re going to slip into our first annual state-wide communion service.

Anyone and everyone is welcome.

We’ll wrap it all up with our annual open water baptisms before night fall.

Saturday September 1st Murray Amphitheater 3-9pm. Join us

Alright, summer is headed to an end and we find ourselves in the final weeks of our Summer Sales promotion. Five products – three books, a DVD, and a CD – retail value of over 100 clams available to you through the end of this month – August – for 50.00! And if you order any Alathea product between now and August 31st we will send you a giant target to stick on your back . . . I mean a fine looking bumper sticker to stick on your laptop or car (you don’t really care about). How to take advantage? www.hotm.tv or call 888 868-

Observations on LDS Church Practices

As an FYI – My sister Phyllis forwarded this to me from the August 13th SL Trib. In a rare but hardly unprecedented move, the LDS Church has announced that all three-hour Sunday block meetings in Utah will be canceled on Sept. 23 so members can view temple dedication services for the new Brigham City temple. This is the thing that caught Phyllis’s attention: “Only those age 8 and older who have been issued a “recommend” attesting to their worthiness can watch the dedication — either in person or via satellite feed to numerous LDS stake centers around the state.” Aha . . . ahahahah. . . . ahahahahahahahahah! Only people eight years and older who have been issued a recommend attesting to their worthiness can WATCH the dedication? How long can this institution keep people thinking this way?

My good friend RJR told me about something Sandra Tanner at Utah Lighthouse Ministry related to him the other day. I thought it was an outstanding insight. It came from a speech she gave in October of 2011 on the “Mormon Testimony.”

Understanding the Mormon Testimony

In the speech . . . Sister Tanner points out that LDS people will often revert to their testimony of the church, and cites the LDS Doctrine and Covenants, Section 9 verse 8, which explains how to know if something is true or not. It reads: “. . . behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.”

She then cited a passage from the Book of Mormon that the LDS missionaries use on people who trying to discover if the book is true or not. The passage says that a person reading the Book of Mormon must “. . . ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.” Sandra points out: “This sets up the investigator to either affirm what the missionaries have said or be labeled as one who did not pray with "real intent."

She then pulls from her own experience, saying: “When Mormons ask me if I read and prayed about the Book…”

The Nature of Belief and Testimony

Of Mormon I tell them, yes, and God showed me that it wasn't true. But somehow their testimony is always the valid one and mine is false. If you don't get their answer you obviously didn't pray with "real intent."

“For the Christian,” she adds, “it all comes down to comparing the doctrine of anyone who claims to speak for God with that of the Bible.”

Later, in this excellent speech, which is available at www.mrm.com, she retells a story about an LDS woman who was dating a non-member who had questions. His girlfriend asked if she could set up a meeting with him and an LDS general authority:

“He agreed and later met with LDS Apostle Spencer W. Kimball. Kimball brushed aside the young man's questions and instructed him that if he really wanted a testimony regarding Mormonism he need only follow three simple steps:

1. You must want to believe that Mormonism is true.

2. You must pray to know that it is true.

• You read only LDS books.

Kimball assured him that this never fails.”

This brings me to the point Sandra makes that I think is so insightful –

A Method to Believe Anything

This method would probably work to convince anyone that almost anything is true! I mean, a man comes to Pol Pot and wants to know if Cambodia Communism is true. Pol Pot says:

Dis is how you know true.

(Cambodian accent)

First, you must completely believe dat Pol Pot True!

Two, you must pray to Pol Pot God to know if Pol Pot tru.

And tird, you must read ONLY Pol Pot book.

Dis sure fire Pol Pot way to know true!

And if you not, Pol Pot put your head on stick!

By the way, Sandra Tanner did not include this impression of Pol Pot in her speech.

From the Gospel of John

And with that, how about a “Moment from the Word?”

Naturally, we’re still in the Gospel of John chapter 12 where John has been quoting from Isaiah about those who cannot see or hear or believe on the Lord. Then in verses 42-43, John wrote:

“Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”

The Praise of Men versus the Praise of God

That last line of our passage tonight is an interesting one relative to the Mormon/Christian debate because honestly – really – all showmanship aside – if we were asked to draw a line between what distinguishes the heart of a true Latter-day Saint and the heart of a true Christian, I would rank this distinction right up there at the top – “for they love the praise of men more than the praise of God.”

What makes me say such a rude thing? Years of being LDS. Knowing their doctrine and ambitions. Show me a true Latter-day Saint and I will show you someone who loves the praise, and accolades of men. Then show me a TRUE Christian and I will show you someone who wants nothing from men.

Man-made organizations will always include praising each other because that is what man-made organizations are founded upon – MAN. But true adoration, praise, glory, and/or tribute is reserved ONLY for God. But the praise of man comes with the territory of being LDS and it is nowhere more prevalent in the Mormon church than at the top.

In a recent Church News (given to me by my brother in Christ, Danny) it has an article on page 2. The title: President Monson’s Birthday celebration. (read it) From Birthdays, to worldly achievements, to their funerals, Latter-day Saints – especially at the top where they ought to be most humble – there is a CONSTANT appeal to the praise of man.

I mean, think about this. Many Mormons think that Monson actually has face-to-face conversations with Jesus our Lord. Do you really think a man who meets face-to-face with our Lord and King who suffered in all areas of human existence, would agree to a “birthday party” with 21000 guests? Birthday parties are for children who have yet to realize who Jesus is or what He did for them, not for men who claim to be prophets like unto Moses or apostles who allow others to think they are like Peter, James, and John.

Repent, Monson. Repent Holland and Eyring. You are not speaking with nor are you speaking for Jesus. Just the opposite.

And with that, let’s have a word of prayer.

Analysis of Joseph Smith's Book of Mormon

For the rest of the year, we are going to continue to examine the contents of the Book of Mormon. Now in addition to all we have presented, I am going to embark tonight on some of the sophomoric tactics Joseph Smith used in compiling the tome. Many of these were pointed out long ago by a man named MT Lamb in his book, The Golden Bible, which I highly recommend. You can get a reprint of it at Utah Lighthouse Ministry or www.utlm.org.

Attempts to Outdo the Bible

So first, in making his book "more" impressive than the Bible, Joseph sought to outdo the Bible and its contents. He would take biblical topics and themes and inject them with literary steroids to make his book far more marvelous and miraculous than the Bible. Says Lamb:

“ . . . almost every page (is filled) with strange visions, with astounding miracles, with Bible incidents worked over and embellished and enlarged, with accounts of remarkable conversions, with revelations imitating those of the Apostle John on the Isle of Patmos, with men almost eclipsing the Lord Jesus Christ in their marvelous powers . . .”

Smith accomplished this in a number of (frankly) amusing ways. Let’s see if we can name some of them: First of all, the people of the Book of Mormon organized Christian churches, where baptism by immersion was practiced, and where all the blessings of the New Testament church were enjoyed, including speaking in tongues, prophesying, performing miracles, etc. Not that big of a deal. Well, all of this was present among the people of the Book of Mormon 100 years BEFORE Jesus even came to earth in the flesh!

Biblical Versus Book of Mormon Narratives

Then, after Jesus ascends to the Father in Judea, He actually makes a visit to the Americas where He stayed for forty days, preached, did miracles, and ordained twelve (more) apostles. So he ordained twelve apostles in Israel and then twelve in the lands of the Book of Mormon! In time, the whole land is converted, and all the wars in the Book of Mormon cease for two hundred years. I mean 200 years of peace after Jesus ascends into heaven? This trumps the Bible narrative because there was nothing but unrest once Jesus ascended.

Of course, as we have pointed out, Smith outdid the Bible in verbosity. But it wasn’t just verbosity; it was really bad verbosity. One of the sure signs of inspired scripture is clarity amidst very few words. For example, in the Bible, Matthew describes Jesus blessing the little children in 3 verses. Joseph covers the same event with a full page. Paul’s conversion story, perhaps the most important biblical conversion to occur, is in 18 verses. In the BOM, Joseph uses two full pages to describe Alma’s and six full pages to describe King Lamoni’s.

In twenty verses, Paul covers incisively details the amazing insights on the vineyard and the Olive tree. Joseph Smith took eight pages to supply an incomprehensible babbling called the parable of the olive tree. In example after example, Joseph, unable to deliver brief, aphoristic gems of spiritual truth provided by the Holy Spirit, would overcompensate by outdoing the Bible’s quality with quantity.

Questionable Clarity in Book of Mormon

I mean, for the most correct book on the face of the earth, take a minute and read these Book of Mormon passages with me: Here is one example of a single sentence from Joseph’s Book of Mormon. Does it sound like the clarity of the Holy Spirit?

“And behold, this is the thing which I will give unto you for a sign, for verily I say unto you, that when these things which I declare unto you and which I shall declare unto you hereafter of myself, and by the power of the Holy Ghost, which shall be given unto you of the Father, shall be made known unto the Gentiles, that they may know concerning this people, who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, and concerning this my people, who shall be scattered by them; verily, verily, I say unto you, when these things shall be made known unto them of the Father, and shall come forth of the Father, from them unto you, for it is wisdom in the Father that they should be established in this land, and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father, that these things might come forth from them unto a remnant of your seed, that the covenant of the Father may be fulfilled which he has covenanted with his people, O house."

The Book of Mormon vs The Bible

of Israel; therefore when these works, and the works which shall be wrought among you hereafter, shall come forth from the Gentiles unto your seed, which shall dwindle in unbelief because of iniquity; for thus it behoveth the Father that it should come forth from the Gentiles, that he may show forth his power unto the Gentiles, for this cause, that the Gentiles, if they will not harden their hearts, that they may repent and come unto me, and be baptize in my name, and know of the true points of my doctrine, that they may be numbered among my people, O house of Israel; and when these things come to pass, that thy seed shall begin to know these things, it shall be a sign unto them, that they may know that the work of the Father hath already commenced, unto the fulfilling of the covenant which he hath made unto the people who are of the house of Israel.”

Scripture? Hardly. There is nothing authored by the Holy Spirit in the Bible that comes close to it.

From the New Testament Part of the Book of Mormon

From the “New Testament part” of the Book of Mormon, listen to how Joseph’s Book of Mormonion has Jesus speak when He comes to the Americas. Now, before reading this, remember that there was a movement afoot in what was known as the Restorationist movement where the name of any true Church had to bear Jesus name.

So here in the BOM, Joseph provides and verbose and highly contrived response:

“And Jesus again showed himself unto them, for they were praying unto the Father, in his name: and Jesus came and stood in the midst of them, and said unto them, What will ye that I shall give unto you? And they said unto him, we will that thou wouldst tell us the name whereby we shall call this church; for there are disputations among the people concerning this matter. And the Lord said unto them, verily, verily, I say unto you, why is it the people should murmur and dispute because of this thing? Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name?

Miracles in the Book of Mormon

for by this name shall ye be called at the last day; and whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day; therefore, whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name; therefore, ye shall call the church in my name; and ye shall call upon the Father in my name, that he will bless the church for my sake; and how be it my church, save it be called in my name.”

Then there are the Book of Mormonion “miracles.” Says Lamb: “The Bible bears no comparison to the Book of Mormon, either in the number of its miracles or in their strange, unnatural, supermiraculous character.” We’ve already told you about the animal skin submarines lighted by rocks that crossed the sea. Also in the BOM God make the meat of the animals Nephi killed sweet so they could eat it without cooking it. Why? He wanted to save them the trouble.

We’ve already talked about the miraculous Liahona and how it worked. It popped up ready made (of fine brass which could produce written messages on its surface and two pointers that would tell the holder which direction to go). This would have been a great gift that the COI could have used – but they only had a couple of rocks they used like dice in making their decisions.

There were the two thousand strippling warriors who, because their mothers taught them not to doubt, that God would deliver them. And He does with miraculous form. I mean, these guys were fighting vicious, mohawked savages who were experts in warfare, but not one of them, in an early battle, ever even fell to the earth! That story really outdoes the Bible, baby. Good job, Joseph!

Another Book of Mormon character, Samuel the Lamanite, could not be hit by stones or arrows. And then when Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem, the Bible tells us that while He was on the cross there was darkness over the land. This darkness was followed by an earthquake and a rending of the veil at the moment Jesus dies. But when Jesus suffering ended, natures pains ended too.

Not so with Jo-Jo’s Book of Mormonion. First there was a three hour storm of which was the most destructive of

Annihilation and Darkness in the Book of Mormon

All time, literally desolation swept over the America’s. During this, sixteen great cities were completely annihilated. Some sank. Some caught fire, others were taken away by ocean waves. One was covered by a mountain falling over and covering it up.

Of this destruction, the Book of Mormon says: “And thus the face of the whole earth became deformed.” Lamb points something very significant in light of all of this, saying: “And this frightful destruction of human life and property, and deforming of earth, FOR WHAT? To signal the consummation Of God’s grand plan of mercy, or salvation, of peace and goodwill to men?”

In other words, in an effort to have his BOM outdo the Bible (by having greater elements of destruction occur at the deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God. of Jesus) Smith didn’t realize that the Biblical result of His death was not anger or revenge by God but reconciliation, peace, and unconditioned love.

Joseph Smith's Dramatic Flair

But the destruction in the BOM was only the beginning. Having a flare for the dramatic, Joseph then has a vapor of darkness consume the land – so heavy and strong that candles and fires could not be lit. And in this, the people began to howl. Then in the midst of the dark, the Lord appears to the inhabitants of the Americas – even though His body is still in the tomb in Palestine. And what does Jesus say? He cries, “Wo, wo, wo, unto the people.”

What is really interesting is Smith has the people crying out and saying things like: “Oh that we had repented before this great and terrible day . . . then would our mothers and our fair daughters and our children have been spared, and not have been buried up in that great city Moronihah.” (that Great City MORON-I-HAH?)

Think about his fiction for a minute. There was destruction and an immediate vapor of darkness fell upon the entire land – a darkness so thick that not even fire could be lit in it – and yet the people somehow knew what happened to their families in that Great City Moronihah?” Oh, also, where the Bible darkness lasted three hours, Joseph’s darkness lasted three hours.

Joseph beats the Bible in a number of other ways too.

Superiority of Book of Mormon Miracles

Noah built one ark. Jared and his brother have eight animal skin barges that travel under the sea! Moses saw the back parts of the Lord, Jared saw him face to face. Moses was up on Sinai before coming down with a face aglow with heavenly radiance. Joseph’s BOM character Abinadai only has to preach a sermon wherein his face “shone with exceeding luster, even as Moses’ did.” Book of Mormon Aminadi saw writing on a wall that was far more involved than Daniels. Alma’s death was made more mysterious than Moses.

And Daniel in the Lion’s den, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s walk through the fire was nothing compared the twelve apostles Jesus called in the Americas who “thrice they were cast into a furnace and received no harm. And twice they were cast into a den of wild beasts, and behold they did play with the beasts as a child with a suckling lamb.”

When Jesus was born, the Jerusalem account has God place a star in the sky. But in the Book of Mormon, not only did the star appear, but there was no night! And it was so bright it could have just as easily been noon as midnight!

But perhaps the greatest trumping the Book of Mormon does over the Bible is when it takes the very words of our Lord, shared when He came and took on a body of flesh, and re-states them through the mouth of the Prophet Nephi hundreds of years before the Lord is born.

The Diluting Effect on the Gospel

What this does, in effect, is steal the thunder of the words of the Son of God as presented honestly and actually in the New Testament. The net effect is diabolical – and let me tell you why before we go to the phones.

For someone who has never read the Bible, reading the Book of Mormon dilutes our Lord’s words which are presented honestly and chronologically in the Bible. If a person, after reading the Book of Mormon, then picks up a Bible, there’s the possibility that they will think, “been there, done that.” On the other hand, if someone is familiar with the Bible, but does not really understand it, and they are offered a Book of Mormon, they might, seeing the plaguerism, think something like, “Wow, this sounds like the Word of God!”

The Deception of Counterfeits

Of the Book of Mormon is taken from the Bible, it certainly could cause someone to believe the book is true whether they have read the Bible or not. And this is kind of the point – I don’t care what it is, when it comes to a counterfeit, they are unfair, unauthorized, and serve to dilute the power and effectiveness of the real thing. This is what lies at the heart of the Book of Mormon – deception that dilutes the power of the Word of God and of God Himself.

Let’s open up the phone lines:

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First time callers only. LDS callers preferred. Please turn your television sets off once you have been cleared by our operators.

Our ability to remain on the air is directly related to your ability to support. Please prayerfully consider the following:

"No Other God Before Me"

Have you ever thought about the first commandment? Exodus 20:1 says

“And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”

Thou shalt have “NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME.” Have you ever really pondered that passage – especially if you are LDS?

You see, in Mormonism, polytheism is more than readily embraced. Let me count the ways. First, Mormonism teaches that God has a father, who was once a God, who had a father who was once a God, and so on, making it an “eternal regression of gods.” This flies in the face of God’s command to have no other gods BEFORE Him. Second, Mormonism teaches that Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Father are all God’s. To recognize one as separate and distinct of the other’s, and to call them all Gods flies in the face of monotheism. And finally, the LDS ardently believe that faithful members all have the opportunity to become god’s in their own right. This is the third way they challenge the Word of God saying, “Have no other gods before me.”

Biblical References

Isaiah 44:8 makes it plain:

“Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.”

Deuteronomy 4:39 says “Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.”

1st Samuel 2:2 “There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.”

2nd Samuel 22:32 says “For who is God, save the LORD? and who is a rock, save our God?”

No other God before Him, beside Him or that will ever be like Him.

"Donkey"

Every now and again I have someone complain (usually a Christian) of my use of the term Jack ass or even donkey when applied to myself. Let me take thirty seconds and explain why I use this term.

In Exodus 13:13 the Lord says something interesting. In the Old Testament and with the birth of each and every first-born, there was a choice to make – redeem it or kill it. This means “devote it to God and His service or send it to its death.”

Listen to what the Lord says in Exodus 13:13

"But every first offspring of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck…

In other words, under the Old Covenant, every firstborn jackass had to be redeemed by a lamb or it was to have its neck broken. Every one of us is a donkey, a jackass. Stubborn. Recalcitrant. But Donkey’s are also beasts of burden. They are packed up with worldly goods that they bear from one place or another.

But Jesus came and said Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest . . . “my yoke is easy, my burden is light.” And the only thing that ultimately keeps our donkey necks from being broken is that we have been redeemed by the Lamb of God. And our burden is lifted. If not, our necks too, will be broken. All of us face either redemption or destruction. The choice is yours.

CONCLUSION

Saturday, September 1st 3PM to 9PM

Bounce houses
Face painting
Boxed lunches from Subway (at a very good price)
Products
Battle for the Best Christian Worship band th a great worship band!
State wide communion – with the elements distributed by the pastors in attendance.
And wrapping it all up with our annual “Open Water

Baptisms Event Information

Tell your pastor, your worship team leaders, your neighbors and your LDS family and friends who are seeking.

Saturday, September 1st
Murray Park Amphitheater
3-9PM

Go to www.hotm.tv for more information OR call 385 282-3350 if you are a band wanting to participate.

See you next week here on HOTM!

Article on Tom’s Journey to the LDS Church

One of my most dear brothers, Brandon, forwarded this article to me. It was in the August 9th 2012 edition of the Deseret News. The headline: Evangelical pastor of 27 years recounts journey to joining LDS church. The article goes on to tell about once Evangelical Pastor Tom being from Utah but the Atlanta Georgia area. As a youth Tom was a Methodist but he met a girl who took him to a Church of the Nazarene where he was baptized. While singing in the choir Tom felt called into full-time ministry by God.

In college (at a Nazarene school) the article says that the more Tom studied the more questions he had. While singing he felt moved by the Holy Spirit but when he asked a professor about the experience, the professor said “it was the work of the devil.” Tom left the school over this comment but was determined to continue to be in ministry. In the ensuing years Tom would go from church to another but the article said he was happy to be doing God’s work. He married while in college and went on to hold nearly every ministerial position there is, including pastor, evangelist, youth pastor, children’s minister, Christian education director and more. During this time he taught and believed that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — referred to as the Mormon Church — was a cult. He had no experience with the church's members and no reason to assume otherwise.

Experiences and Challenges in Ministry

All the years Tom spent tending to his flock, preparing his sermons, going from one denomination to another and seeking the spirit took a huge toll on his family life. After 27 years, his marriage ended and he was no longer received among those to whom he had ministered. It was a painful period of his life. In the meantime, Maggie was growing up in a Catholic home. Her family joined an evangelical church when she was 12. Maggie became a registered nurse, married and had her own family only to see her marriage also end in divorce. Little did Tom and Maggie know that they would soon find each other and build a friendship that could sustain them during the rough times ahead. They soon married.

No longer a pastor, Tom worried about their future, but Maggie would always say, “Thankfully, God has a plan.” The couple suffered one financial setback after another, difficulties with the children and other challenges. Because of Tom's divorce, they were not made welcome in the churches where he had previously been a pastor. Tom finally found a place where he could preach once more. However, as soon as he began, Tom encountered health problems. Then, Maggie was expecting a child, but the doctor predicted problems severe enough that he advised them to abort. Putting their trust in God, they continued with the pregnancy. Tom got better and Maggie gave birth to a perfectly healthy baby girl.

Relocation and Conversion

But their journey wasn't over. Tom started work as a product distributor and got to know the owners of his company, located in Utah. He found the owners to be men of integrity and, despite warnings from others not to deal with "those Mormons," he relocated his family to Utah to take a new job. The Scotts never expected to live in Utah, but upon arrival they were surprised by the genuine welcome given them. Not long after pulling in the driveway, neighbors showed up, bringing plates of cookies, meals, furniture, whatever they found the Scott family needed. Tom’s teenage son commented, “These people cannot be for real.” But they were.

These initial acts of kindness made Tom question all the negative things he had heard about members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They acted like Christians to him. He was determined to find out. The Scotts began attending the LDS Church and eventually took lessons from LDS missionaries. They had all of their questions answered and felt completely at peace with their decision to join the Mormon Church. One of their sons even joined with them. Tom says that before, he never really knew the Mormons, making it easy for him to assume the false things he heard about them were true. He and Maggie now have a desire to

Journey to Truth in the Mormon Church

Tom and Maggie Scott share their love of the Mormon Church and their newfound happiness with others. To this end, Tom has written a book called "It's True: An Evangelical Pastor's Journey to Truth in the Mormon Church," published by Inglestone Publishing. Tom never served a full-time mission. Instead, he invites people to read his blog, tomscottitstrue.blogspot.com, where he shares his experiences. “By writing this book and giving talks about our journey to truth, I am serving a mission,” Tom said.

Staying Salty

In his talks he frequently quotes the Bible verse from Matthew 5:13: “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?” He loves to end his comments with an admonition to “stay salty.” Tom and Maggie Scott no longer worry about what the future may bring because they know that God has a plan for them.

About the Author

Stephanie Abney, an eternal optimist, retired teacher and freelance writer, lives in Mesa, Ariz., with her husband Jim. They have five children and 18 grandchildren. Her email is sabneyfeedback@cox.net and she blogs at stephaniesaysso.blogspot.com.