Vol. 9, No. 9, 1992

Articles on Mormonism

(By Tom Forehand, the Tennessee Director of Watchman Fellowship, a former pastor of nine years, and a graduate of Nashville's Montgomery Bell Academy '64, of Knoxville's University of Tennessee '68, B.S. in Journalism, and of Fort Worth's Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary '79, M. Div. Tom, his wife Judy and their three children attend the First Baptist Church of Franklin, Tn.)

As I stood there, the tract in my hand stated on the cover: "Whose Blood Must Be Shed? A Quiz". A very simply drawn cross also adorned the front of the tract. Let me ask you: If you were a "Christian," would this title and image of a cross have offended you? They offended one lady. She was attending the '92 City of Joseph Pageant in Nauvoo, Illinois. And in a moment I will try to give you her exact reply when she rejected this tract I offered to her.

Nauvoo '92 At our annual mission trip in Nauvoo recently, about a dozen and a half of us co-labors for the Lord (from about six different, Christian denominatons) handed out thousands of tracts with a cross on the cover. The tracts went to the thousands who attended Nauvoo's Mormon musical about the early history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Many of those in attendance each year are Mormons, but also many are non-Mormons (usually ignorant of the blatant, non-Christian doctrines taught by the LDS).

She Claimed She Was Raised A Mormon As this middle-aged lady passed me on her way to the pageant grounds, I extended a tract. However, seeing the tract and its cross before ever reaching my post, she had verbally armed herself. As she walked briskly by, she aimed and fired her only, verbal volley in our spiritual battle. I am sure, however, that her quick blast wounded the heart of Jesus more than it injured me. She said: "I was raised a Latter-day Saint and that cross does not appeal to me.".

Did She Stumble Over The Cross?

Have you ever seen a cross on a Mormon church building? Don't hold your breath until you do, or you may just suffocate.

Although, Christians do not always use a cross on their church buildings, it seems that some church buildings of almost all Christian denominations will bear this emblem of the shed blood of Jesus.

Have you ever seen a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wearing a cross? If so, how often?

The Bible sadly speaks the truth when it says: "For the preaching of the cross is to them thatperish foolishness but unto us which re saved it is the power of God"(l Corinthians 1:18).

Excuse Not To Use The Cross One Mormon apologist, Gilbert Scharffs, alibis: "[LDS] remember Christ's blood in weekly communion, but avoid symbols, [LDS] respect the cross, but choose not to make it an object of veneration. The lives of our people must become the only meaningful expression of our faith and, in fact therefore, the symbol of our worship. Mormons do not have an aversion to the cross; they merely avoid revering it because 'for us, the cross is the symbol of the dying Christ, while or message is a declaration of the living Christ'" (The Truth About The God Makers by Gilbert Scharffs, pp. 18, 193).

This LDS Excuse Is Hypocritical If Mormons are really so afraid of venerating symbols, such as that of the cross, then do temple Mormons wear their sacred temple garments almost all of the time. These garments bear stitched "symbols" to remind the LDS temple-goer of the covenants which he made while in the temple. Such secret temple ceremonies, covenants and accompanying symbols are so "venerated" by LDS, that Saints have promised before "God, angels and witnesses to hold them sacred" (Evolution of The Mormon Temple Ceremony - 1842-1990 by Jerald Tanner, p.77). Beverly Campbell, East Coast director for public communications for the church, claimed: "Because the temple ceremony is sacred to us, we don't speak about it except in the most general terms" (Ibid. p. 6). Temple Mormons boldly wear the symbols of their secret/sacred ceremonies daily to remind them of their temple promises. What's wrong with Christians having a cross in view to remind them of the promise Jesus make - that his hed blood provides complete remission of their personal sins?

THE CROSS: APPEALING TO PAUL Paul wrote: "For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. For Christ sent me not to baptize but to preach the gospel, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Corinthians 1:17; 2:2; Galatians 6:14). The burning passion of the apostles was the cross.

Shed Your Own Blood - Appalling To Anyone? Part of that tract with the cross on the cover proved that the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith, was a false prophet of the first water! How? Smith taught that if you committed certain sins you had to shed your own blood for possible atonement. Smith taught that the blood of Jesus Christ is not enough under certain circumstances. Dear friends, I have no doubt that Smith's Blood Atonement doctrine is appalling to Jesus Christ - don't you, too, believe so!