“The
Holy Ghost Comforts, Inspires, and Testifies”
Compared
to the Bible by Connie Raddon
Color Key:
Quotes from the
LDS Ensign in blue.
Quotes from the
Bible in red.
All my own words
are black.
In the April
2013 issue of the Ensign, the section “What We Believe” is about receiving the
gift of the Holy Ghost. It is on pg.
10-11.
The article
describes what the Holy Ghost does: “...the Holy Ghost comforts, inspires, warns, purifies, and guides us…
He teaches ‘the truth of all things’… we receive revelation and spiritual gifts
from God through the Holy Ghost… we receive our testimonies of Heavenly Father
and Jesus Christ through the Holy Ghost.”
Hooray! We have a moment that LDS teachings are
fairly consistent with the Bible!
However... LDS
teachings go on to contradict the Bible.
The article says “Before
you were baptized, you could feel the Holy Ghost from time to time. But only by receiving the gift of the Holy
Ghost after your baptism could you enjoy the constant companionship of the Holy
Ghost, provided you are worthy.”
Baptism does not
need to come first. Here is an example
in the Bible where people received the Holy Spirit first, and then they got
baptized second.
“While
Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who
were listening to the message. All the
circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the
Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they were hearing them speaking with tongues
and exalting God.
Then
Peter answered, ‘Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized
who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?’ And he ordered them
to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.”
Acts 10:44-48
But much more
important than the order of baptism and receiving the Holy Spirit is the idea
that you can have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost “provided you are worthy.”
The LDS call
this the “gift” of the Holy Ghost. What
kind of a “gift” is that? It’s not
really a gift at all. You can only have
it when you have earned it. If that’s
the case, then for my daughter’s birthday, I think I’ll get her a brand new car
– as soon as she earns the money to pay for it.
Nice gift, right? NO! That’s not a gift at all.
Another problem
with this teaching is that the LDS Church teaches its members that they can
actually BE worthy.
The Bible says, “There is none righteous, not even one.” Romans 3:10
So do LDS
leaders teach their members to just ignore the Bible? Or maybe just ignore the parts that they
don’t like? Or do they teach that God
didn’t really mean that verse? Or do
they teach that there are none righteous, except Mormons who are trying their
best?
Either way, it’s
denying the word of God.
If anyone thinks
that their good works or obedience to laws and ordinances makes them worthy… or
if they think they could possibly be without sin for even a fraction of a
second…the Bible tells them they are lying.
Therefore, they are sinning, so they are not worthy anymore.
“If
we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in
us.” 1John 1:8
The article goes
on to say, “ Because the
Spirit of the Lord doth not dwell in unholy temples, (Helaman 4:24) we must be
worthy of His companionship.”
This is not how
the Bible says we get the Holy Spirit in us (by being worthy). The Holy Spirit enters into a believer the
moment he or she exercises a saving faith in Christ. And the Holy Spirit stays there forever.
“However,
you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells
in you. But if anyone does not have the
Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”
Romans 8:9
This is saying
that if you do not have the Holy Spirit, you do not belong to Christ. So if LDS teachings are right, and you don’t
always have the Holy Spirit with you, but only have it when you’re “worthy”,
then you don’t belong to Christ most of the time. Or at least some of the time. (None of the time, if you truly understand
that you cannot ever be worthy.) So I
ask Mormons – Who do you belong to during those times when you are a little
short of being worthy and the Holy Spirit isn’t dwelling in you?
After the
resurrected Jesus spent time on earth with his disciples, he promised “…I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20
Was Jesus
lying? Because he isn’t here with
us. No, he was not lying… he sent the
Holy Spirit to be with us. He is with us
through the Holy Spirit. He did not say
he would be with us only at the times we are worthy. He said he would be with us ALWAYS.
To the LDS
reader: Have you entered into that
saving faith? Have you been born again?
Please trust God and His word to teach you truth.
The
teachings in the April 2013 issue of the Ensign
are
NOT Biblical, and therefore,
NOT
consistent with Christian beliefs.
Brigham Young issued a challenge on
May 18, 1873 (as recorded in the Journal of Discourses, Vol. 16 p. 46): “Take up the Bible, compare the religion of
the Latter Day Saints with it, and see if it will stand the test.”
I have accepted that challenge from
Brigham Young.
In the April 2013 issue of the
Ensign, the LDS religion FAILS
this test.
Resources
used for this article:
The Word of God
(The Bible)
The LDS
magazine, “The Ensign”
Unger’s Bible
Dictionary
