Summary
Shawn McCraney criticizes Elder David A. Bednar's LDS general conference talk, "Ye Must Be Born Again," which likens spiritual regeneration to the process of making pickles, arguing that it misrepresents biblical spiritual rebirth by emphasizing ritualistic steps rather than the immediate, faith-based cleansing available through Jesus Christ. McCraney emphasizes the necessity of coming to Jesus in one's current state for reconciliation and asserts that spiritual rebirth is not a regimented process but a unique, individual experience.
In this teaching, Shawn critiques the LDS Church's view on salvation and sanctification, arguing that their ordinance-based approach, which includes constant efforts for purification and justification, contrasts with the Christian belief that faith in Jesus Christ alone provides complete and eternal redemption. Additionally, Shawn addresses Elder Russell Ballard's emphasis on the Bible in LDS teachings, applauding the positive shift but maintaining that the Bible, as God's Word, does not require enhancement or validation from additional scriptures like the Book of Mormon.
Shawn discusses the exclusive use of the King James Version by the LDS Church and defends his position on the Sabbath prohibition against bearing burdens using passages from the book of Jeremiah. He also critiques the defense of Joseph Smith's plural marriages, arguing that the absence of proof of consummation does not justify the practice, and warns against substituting divine truths with human opinions in religious discourse.
The teaching emphasizes that according to Christian scripture, specifically the words of Jesus, salvation and entry to heaven are only attainable through belief in Jesus Christ, not simply through good deeds or being morally upright. Contrary beliefs, which argue that all paths lead to God as long as one is respectful and humane, are identified as a deviation from traditional biblical teachings.
Heart of the Matter
Broadcast Date: April 24th, 2007
Diversionary Respite II
LIVE! From the “Mecca of Mormonism,” it’s… HEART OF THE MATTERTGNN’s original show where Shawn McCraney deconstructed religion and developed fulfilled theology.! And I’m your host Shawn McCraneyFounder of TGNN and developer of the fulfilled perspective—calling people to faith outside of religion..
Beginning tonight – and every Tuesday evening thereafter from 9:30pm to midnight – you will find me and my Bible parked at a table in Squatters Pub in downtown Salt Lake City. We’ll call it a Pastor in a Pub. Contrary to popular opinion, I am not a drinker but I will be there to dialogue with you, answer questions, and provide biblical counseling face to face. All are welcome. So if you should want to stop by for a face-to-face conversation tonight or any Tuesday night thereafter, I’ll see you at Squatter’s Pub from 9:30 to midnight every Tuesday night of the week. By the way, Squatter’s Pub is located at 3rd South and 150 West right in downtown SLC!
Announcements
- Sandy Ridge Community Church will begin Pastor Travis’s study of the Trinity: HEART ON THE SEA! Jerm-rob@yahoo.com
- Christian Gift and Bible
- Benchmark Books
- Oasis Books in Logan HYPERLINK "http://www.bornagainmormon.com" www.bornagainmormon.com
PRAYER PRAYER PRAYER PRAYER
I’m going to take a few moments this evening and clean house – addressing issues that have piled up around us over the last month or so.
FIRST, let’s look at two talks delivered at the recent LDS general conference: Elder David A Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gave a speech called “Ye Must Be Born Again.” In it, he makes an analogy of making pickles with being spiritually regenerated. Says Bednar: “A pickle is a cucumber that has been transformed according to a specific recipe and series of steps.” He then lists the specific steps as:
- Preparing and cleaning the cucumbers.
- Immersing and saturating the cucumbers in brine over an extended period of time, and
- Sealing the cured pickles in jars that have been sterilized and purified.
In typical LDS vernacular, Bednar adds: “This procedure requires time and cannot be hurried, and none of the essential steps can be ignored or avoided.” Let me tell you, this self-proclaimed Apostle of Jesus Christ lays out sheer heresy when it comes to understanding spiritual regeneration. Like the preparing and cleansing of a cucumber, Bednar, instead of saying we are cleansed of all sinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace. by Jesus, states: “you and I can be prepared with ‘the words of faith and of good doctrine’ and initially cleansed through the ordinances and covenants administered by the authority of the Aaronic priesthood!” What? He goes on to say: “The Lord has established a high standard of cleanliness” and “Proper preparing and cleaning are the first basic steps in the process of being born-again.” This religious rhetoric is so far from the biblical mandate for spiritual rebirth that it makes me sick to hear such confusing and misappropriated descriptions from a person who claims he is an Apostle of the Lord. If we could clean ourselves up first, why would we need to be reborn? Come to Lord as you are – in your filth – and let Him reconcile you to God.
Let’s remember that the Lord used birth purposefully. And birth is not a lifelong process – it’s a singular event. It happens and we’re then born or reborn. Let’s also remember that there are no specific or essential steps to spiritual regeneration. Paul was reborn one way, I was reborn in another. To some rebirth is revealed immediately. To others, it is revealed gradually. There are no exacting steps dictated by religion.
Speaking of rebirth, Jesus told Nicodemus:
John 3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Religions want people under their thumb and authority. But you can go directly to God in prayer and faith and experience all He has to give you. I find it really interesting that Apostle Bednar does NOT associate the cleansing of our sin with Jesus, but instead ties it directly to ordinances. What a shame.
The next section of spiritual rebirth – the immersion in brine over a long period of time – seems to be in line with what the Word teaches justified believers should “do with themselves” once they have embraced Jesus by faith and have been saved by His grace. It has been said that “To every Christian there is the miracle of the moment, followed by the tasks of
Understanding LDS Teachings and Christian Views
A lifetime.”
I think this is true and I think the LDS Church does a good job of helping people with the “tasks of a life time.” But the horse (Jesus) must be before the cart (the tasks) otherwise people are working to save themselves, not realizing that salvation is “of grace, and not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Finally, Bednar adds another step in what he calls His “parable of the pickle” – the sealing of the pickle jars in boiling water by saying: “In a similar way, we progressively become purified and sanctified as you and I are washed in the blood of the Lamb, are born-again, and receive the ordinances and honor the covenants that are administered by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood.” This sentence perfectly represents what is different between the LDS version of salvation by justification and sanctification and the Christian view of the same.
Justification and Sanctification
The LDS Church, as Bednar affirms here in the Pickle Parable, attempts to tell us that we progressively become purified and sanctified. The Bible is replete with verses which plainly state that we are justified AND sanctified by faith in Jesus. It is His righteousness that is imputed to us, not our own works or attempts at personal purification. Bednar also infers that we are washed and rewashed in the blood of the Lamb. This is typical of an ordinance-based religion. Like the Jews of ancient Israel who offered sacrifices up continually, the LDS insist that constant justification is required for permanent justification. Christians know better than this.
Heb 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
Why would a religion want you to believe that you must renew your rebirth each week through a sacrament? Because it gets you to constantly seek for absolution, never obtaining the rest promised by God.
Finally, Bednar says that we must “receive the ordinances and honor the covenants that are administered by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood.” My friends, please, please listen to me: Jesus gave Himself for you to come to Him directly. There are no more intermediary priests or priesthoods necessary to reconcile you to Him week end and week out. He is but a prayer of faith away from your constant peace. He will change you and give you new life permanently. He will justify you, He will sanctify you, and He will give you the power and strength to walk with Him every day – if you let Him.
I think it is fitting that Apostle Bednar chose to use the process of pickling a cucumber as his analogy. This is prototypical LDS teaching. As a Christian, I would actually think of the reverse. We are pickled, shrunken, withered, and immersed in the brine of sin, processed by the ways of men and the world. Pickled by pride and sin, our state is apparently permanent, one which cannot be reversed by any human means. But then there is hope in Christ, the savior, the redeemer, our very creator. And by His grace through faith, the Lord steps in and gives us new life, reversing the effects of sin, making us beautiful and new cucumbers, fresh from the earth, viable and strong. And as long as we abide in the vine, we will remain alive in Him.
The Role of the Bible in LDS Teachings
SECOND – Elder Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gave a speech called “The Miracle of the Holy Bible. I found this to be a good step in helping correct the earlier views the LDS church has had of the Bible. Elder Russell commends the Bible, claims to embrace it, never says anything about it being translated correctly, and overall places the Bible on the same shelf as the other books of Scripture Latter-day Saints use. I think such talks are certainly a step in the right direction in helping bring the LDS to loving AND trusting the Bible. Naturally, I disagreed with Apostle Ballard’s statement that “the Book of Mormon does not dilute nor diminish nor deemphasize the Bible. On the contrary, it expands, extends, and exalts it.” I would beg to differ. The Bible doesn’t need another book to expand it, extend it, or exalt it. It is God’s Word and has stood as such since He spoke. Just as the LDS Church does not have two prophets, co-Bishops, or joint Presidents of the Quorum of the Twelve, additional books only cause people to exalt one over the other. In the end, however, I applaud Elder Ballard’s comments.
Defending Scriptural Truth
on the Bible, and pray every Latter-day Saint will make it their only source of scriptural truth.
Illustrating Religious Identity Claims
THIRD – Salt Lake Tribune Headline reporting on the LDS Conference reads: “Mormons: We are Christians” Can I take a minute and offer an illustration in response to this claim?
I know a family in Southern California who owns 12 McDonald franchises. The McDonald’s corporation has been around a long time. worked very hard to establish itself packaging food content marketing Outlined in its manuals. Supposed someone came along and opened a small chain of stores and called them McDonald’s too? Would they have the right? Would they be right? Would the real McDonald’s just roll over and let them make their claims? What if Jehovah’s Witnesses started saying they are Mormons? What if they changed their name to The COJCOLDS? What would the LDS church do in response?
Addressing Misunderstandings
FOURTH – In a recent radio interview – the Podcast is available on our site at (www.bornagainmormon.com) the host called several statements I made into question. I’d like to support my statements here and now.
The first had to do with the official LDS version of the Bible. I maintained on the show that the LDS use and recommend the King James Version. The host disagreed. We debated this ridiculous argument for some time but in the end I stand by my statement and include the following as support:
In the Church News, dated November 16th 1974, page 16 it reads: “The presiding brethren urge the use of the King James version of the Bible, which is the official Bible of the Church . . .” I have not found any pronouncement by the LDS Church that claims this null and void.
The second statement I made was that it was against the Sabbath day (of the Old Testament) to bear a burden. The host said not so. I said it was in the book of Jeremiah. He said, “I don’t believe you.” Unable to quote passage and verse, I could not say otherwise.
Here are some of the passages to which I was referring:
Jeremiah 17:21 Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;
Jeremiah 17:22 Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.
Jeremiah 17:24 And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein;
Jeremiah 17:27 But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.
Discussing Plural Marriages
Finally, in defense of Joseph Smith’s practice of secret polygamy, the host stated that there was no proof the founding prophet had intimate relations with any of the women he made his wives.
My response was what is wrong with an intimate relationship with someone to whom you are legally wed – especially if they were legally wed by virtue of the command of God. It seemed rather odd to me that the host's justification or rationalization for the multiple secret marriages of Joseph Smith to a number of women (including several teenage girls) was to suggest that “there is no proof they had sexual relations.” Is this what the LDS church is using today as its defense of Joseph’s plural marriages? That there is no proof of marital consummation? Come on!
In the next few months we’ll examine the plural marriages of Joseph Smith and will show that the end result of this man-centered practice was painful, disastrous, and not of God.
FIFTH We live in a day where being tolerant is more important than speaking truth. At a time when even some of the best religious minds are substituting the truths of God word with the opinions of Man. I have been criticized recently for publicly calling an older women out on her beliefs last week.
The setting was the “Heart in the Church” in Logan where an older woman stood and stated that she was a Presbyterian Minister. She made an unsolicited statement that said she recognizes that Jesus is important but that there are “far too many good people who have lived good lives
The Exclusivity of Salvation
Who will certainly go to heaven even if they do not accept Him? Where Jesus Himself said: “I am the way, the truth, and the Life, no man comes to the father but by me,” the “politically correct diversity lovers” of the world are saying all good men and women will live with God whether they know Jesus or not. Where Jesus said: “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat,” the liberals are claiming all roads lead – so long as they are polite and respectful and humane – to God! Like it or not, I speak for the Word of God.
Seven Emails
Alright, let’s go to the phones. (801) 973-TV20 (801) 973-8820 Listen – have a question or comment and be quick about it – please. And turn your televisions down!
Conclusion
Hey, remember, if you’d like to meet face to face for some biblical counseling or straight shot answers on Mormonism relative to Biblical Christianity, I’m at Squatter’s Pub tonight from 9:30 to midnight. Next Week: Our examination of the Book of Mormon continues. God bless.
