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Resources for the Curious

“I was a Born-Again Mormon”

We made the manuscript available online through a downloadable PDF. Go to www.hotm.tv and you can have the book in your hands within minutes.

How’s your knowledge of the Bible? Why not join us for an hour every week for a verse-by-verse walk through the Word? Join us at CAMPUS every Sunday in either Utah State in Logan or UofU in Salt Lake City. Go to www.calvarycampus.com for more information like times and directions.

This coming Friday night and Saturday, Calvary Chapel Salt Lake City is hosting an excellent event called the Capstone Conference. Guest speakers will include Sandra Tanner of Utah Lighthouse Ministry, and a whole bunch more from all over the nation. They are also going to air Living Hope Ministries' brand new DVD ________________ which is just excellent. The event is FREE! So if you are investigating Mormonism, trying to leave Mormonism, trying to discover the truth about it, or just want to know more, take the time and hit the Capstone Conference at Calvary Chapel Salt Lake City this Friday and Saturday. Go to www.capstoneconference.com

And with that, let’s have a prayer.

Spiritual Rebirth in LDS Teaching

In our ministry, there is NO MORE important topic than a clear biblical understanding of our subject tonight: Spiritual rebirth or being Born-Again.

Our first book was called:
Born-Again Mormon

The first website we ever created was www.bornagainmormon.com

The central focus of the ministry was, and remains to this very day, our desire for Latter-day Saints to experience spiritual rebirth – and to then let the Lord guide them in their decisions about family, life, and church membership. In my heart – and from what I can deduce from scripture – there is not a more important moment in the life of any and every human being.

This being the case, it would stand to reason that Satan would spend quite a bit of time creating counterfeits to genuine spiritual rebirth and/or changing the definition of what spiritual rebirth truly is.

After telling a man named Nicodemus that a person MUST be born again and that the spirit behind it “blows and goes where it wants to go without our being able to direct or originate it,” Joseph Smith stepped in and said that:

“Being born-again comes by the Spirit of God THROUGH ordinances.” (TPJS page 162)

Where Jesus' description – and the rest of the Word – seems to support rebirth as a mysterious act of God through His wind-like Spirit, Joseph Smith reeled the whole experience back into the four walls of a religious institution and claimed it occurs through LDS ordinances.

Summarizing Joseph Smith Jr.'s original teachings, the tenth president of the LDS church, Joseph Fielding Smith, said in Doctrines of Salvation 2:223:
“Through baptism and confirmation (people) are born-again and thus come back into spiritual life and through their continued obedience to the end, they shall be made partakers of the blessings of eternal life in the celestial kingdom of GodGod’s spiritual reign—fulfilled and present, not political or future..”

To give this LDS counterfeit greater clarity, allow me to sort-of restate their teachings in my own words . . . and then we will explore the topic biblically.

Key LDS Beliefs

Latter-day Saints first teach that we are all born literal spirit children of a Heavenly Father. By coming from a pre-existent state as His spirit children, we enter into bodies of flesh and face temptations – and the LDS teach we all sinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace.. In order to overcome sin, Mormonism teaches that a person must enter into a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ. This happens when the person accepts the ordinance of the LDS water baptism, and then they receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, which comes ONLY by the laying on of hands by an LDS male priesthood holder.

In receiving these LDS ordinances, they believe they have “taken on the name of Christ,” which is synonymous with being Born again to them. Then, to remain faithful to this, what I would call a perfunctory and institutionalized spiritual rebirth brought about by LDS ordinances, a person must then live so as to be worthy of the Gift of the Holy Spirit that they have been…

Understanding Spiritual Rebirth

Part of this worthiness is to repent for when they sin or, as they are want to say, fall short of the mark. This repenting culminates in faithfully and repetitively renewing the covenants they made at water baptism by taking the LDS sacrament of broken bread and water every week. Do you see the cycle? Which includes the need to remain faithful to Mormonism in order to remain saved?

Spiritual Rebirth and LDS Ordinances

To Latter-day Saints spiritual rebirth does NOT occur when God sends His Spirit and God dwells in a believer but when a person receives LDS ordinances. The LDS approach effectively removes the being broken and receiving Jesus as Lord and King and replaces it with receiving LDS ordinances. As a result! As a result . . . most Latter-day Saints wander about not ever having experienced true, regenerative spiritual rebirth but instead find themselves chained to a hamster wheel of striving, achieving, measuring up, and accomplishing personal sanctification.

In the realm of Mormon / Christian debate, spiritual rebirth is either tied to ordinances, as the LDS claim OR it is an event received outside the administration of men.

(BEAT)

Let’s take a look at the Bible and compare and contrast how it describes spiritual rebirth.

The first thing to consider is the idea of birth itself. Ask yourselves: How many times is a person born and how long does the actual birth take? There is a divine reason Jesus likened spiritual regeneration to birth and not a life-long repetitive action like “swimming over an endless ocean” or rolling a stone up a mountain over and over again like Sysiphus. Physical birth – and spiritual rebirth – are singular events. Once a woman enters giving birth it ends in delivery. She does not spend her life in labor. Once God moves in, the regeneration, the change, the rebirth is done.

This is the Jesus moment which is completely missing from the LDS experience. This is the Romans 10:9 moment:

“That if we should confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in our heart that God hath raised him from the dead, we shalt be saved.”

In this moment, we are justified before God by the Blood of Jesus Christ. Justification means our sins have been forgiven. And because our sins have been forgiven PAST, PRESENT, and FUTURE and our person has been permanently cleansed from sin by the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit moves in – and an individual is born-again. And he or she becomes the recipient of a new heart, or what God promised in Ezekiel, saying:

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.”

Justification and Its Significance

This new heart filled by His Holy Spirit is indicative that the believer has been justified by God. Justification is the opposite of condemnation. It might be considered a legal term and is the judicial act of God, by which he pardons all the sins of those who believe in Christ, and accounts, accepts, and treats them as righteous in the eye of His law – meaning the person has by Christ conformed to all of the demands of God’s law. In addition to this pardon of sin, justification declares that all the claims of the law have been permanently satisfied. It is the action of a judge. The law is not relaxed or set aside, but is declared to be fulfilled in the strictest sense; and so the person justified is declared to be entitled to all the advantages and rewards arising from perfect obedience to the law – by Christ while we were still in sin!

Romans five lays it all out very nicely. Chapter four ends by telling us the righteousness of Christ is imputed to those who believe. And then Romans Five continues, saying

Romans 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulationA real historical event fulfilled in 70 A.D.—not a future apocalyptic crisis. More produces perseverance;

4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope.

5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

7 For scarcely for a

The Spirit and New Life

Righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

To any Bible-believing Christian, these verses describe a simple message: While we were sinners Jesus died for us. By believing in Him, God pours His holy Spirit into us, and we know we are saved from wrath. And this knowledge produces peace.

Rest in Him. Freedom from worry, wrath, and the wranglings of man.

Born of the Spirit

Now, what causes this rebirth to occur? Is it our being worthy? Our efforts? Do we call the Holy Spirit down when we are good and ready? Jesus makes it all perfectly clear in John 3:8 saying: "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

Where John came to baptize with water, Jesus came to baptize with the Spirit, meaning, by and through His shed blood, all who believe are able to have NEW LIFE in Him – wrought about and given according to God’s ways and will, and not man’s. Not by ordinances, but by broken hearts calling to God in humble faith – and waiting for Him to send “the wind.”

The Valley of Dry Bones

The Bible is full of stories and illustrations not only of this New Spirit giving life, but how it works. As a beautiful picture of God’s power to regenerate new life, we turn to the Book of Ezekiel, chapter 37. Hear God’s Word:

“The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. 3 And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" So I answered, "O Lord GOD, You know." 4 Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 'Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. 6 "I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the LORD."' 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. 9 Also He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live."' 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, 'Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!' 12 "Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 "Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. 14 "I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it," says the LORD.'"

In the New Testament, we have other stories which paint a similar and vital picture – that we are dead, and it is ONLY when God so designs to send His Spirit – that we receive new life. Recall the story of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. (Tell Story here)

Where the LDS say we are “all children of God,” John the Beloved, who knew Jesus so intimately – lived and walked…

Spiritual Rebirth

Listen!

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13)

My friends, we are born spiritually dead. Yes, creations of God in His image (three in one) but dead in spirit. Jesus said, “We must be born-again.” This occurs when we stop, look, and see ourselves in desperate need of a redeemer, we ask God to receive Him, and we wait on Him and Him alone . . .

To be saved. To have a new heart placed within us. To be born-again.

The Simple Truth

Mormonism would LOVE to have everyone believe a counterfeit to this simple message. They would love to make you think you have to go through them and their institution to be right with God. And that it is ONLY through them that a person can be with God again. This is a lie. You can be with God, and God can and will be with you – living inside of you, permanently, right now.

How?

Go to Him. Pour out your heart. Ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Believe in His promises, in His Son, in His shed blood. Then in faith wait for Him to open your eyes to His truth. He will. And one day, you will with great AMAZEMENT and absolute peace and hope, raise your hands, and praise Him and His name.

Romans 5 spoke all about justification in verses 1-9. Then verse 10 says something really important. Let me close tonight with these words in Romans 5:10. It says . . .

For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God. of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

We will continue with part 2 of 2 on being Born-again next week, with a discussion about “Sanctification.”

Ministry Opportunities

Let’s open up the phone lines –

(801) 973-8820
(801) 973-TV20

While the operators are clearing your calls, we want to talk to you about something. A few weeks ago I got a call from a Christian friend – Russ – who is in the broadcast business and he told me that we could air Heart of the Matter nationally through the NRB television network. If we contracted with them Heart would reach 18 million subscriber homes on Direct Television. The cost would be around $18,000.00 a year. In order to do this, we need you.

Now, if you are a Partner or a friend to the ministry already this is NOT a call to get you to bear more of the financial burden. It is an invitation for people who have not been so inclined to prayerfully come alongside the ministry and help. We think the exposure relative to the cost is well worth it but as with everything we do in the ministry, we will lay it out and see if you – and more importantly – the LORD, agrees. We’ll know by the response.

With the hopes of creating in you a desire to join us in reaching the nation through Direct television and/or getting your friends and family to help too, Cassidy put this “stroll down the Heart of the Matter memory lane DVD” for your viewing enjoyment.

When we come back, we’ll go to your phone calls.

RUN DVD! RUN DVD! RUN DVD!
RUN DVD! RUN DVD! RUN DVD!

Upcoming Events

Remember, this Friday and Saturday at Calvary Chapel SLC, the Capstone Conference!

Go to www.capstoneconference.com for more information.

We’ll see you next week, here on HOTM!

Born Again, Part 1

Heart of the Matter Broadcast