November 5, 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

Cops hassling our group in front of Lehi High School on September 30th
Last month I reported that I got an unjust parking ticket. On September 30th, I parked a couple blocks away from Lehi High School and about a foot on some guy’s property. I was so mad about this, since I was clearly parked legally (see video) and suspected the cop was LDS, who was simply giving me a hard time for evangelizing in front of the high school and perhaps he didn’t like all my bumper stickers either. Well I’m happy to report that what this cop apparently meant for evil, God meant for good (cf. Gen. 50:20). Not only was the case dismissed by the Lehi court on October 18th, but afterwards I went back out in front of the high school again and witnessed to a student named Stetson, and he accepted the Lord! Stetson at first told me that he wasn’t interested in my literature, since he was LDS. I began to ask him to at least take a look at my web site sometime. As I talked with him, he said that half his family were unbelievers and the other Mormon. He ended up agreeing with me about the reliability of the Bible in contrast to the Book of Mormon story of "plain and precious truths" being removed from the Bible, that there was only 1 true God by nature, and that there's nothing we could add to Christ's death. So I asked Stetson if he wanted to pray and receive Christ, and the kid did! He repented and became born-again! He understood that Christ had taken up residency in his life, and as he trusted Christ, Christ was going to change him. I got his email and he ended up taking my 7 Differences tract and the Jesus Christ/Joseph Smith DVD. I ended our time by praying for him. Now I ask you to do the same.

Rob at General Conference
The beginning of October was the semiannual LDS General Conference. I had a few dialogues with individual Mormons and I was able to preach to a huge crowd lined up to go inside (see video). One particular conversation stood out to me. It was with a guy I was talking to as we were walking down there. As I was challenging him with all different reasons why Mormonism is false, he flatly told me it’s simply a matter of faith; it’s not science with reasons. LDS, by and large, have this secular mindset they’ve imbibed from our post-Enlightenment culture. I challenged this guy in telling him that this mindset isn’t what the Bible teaches. The Bible demands that we have reasons for our faith, and we’re to be ready always to give those reasons when asked (1 Pt. 3:15).

Sivulka after conference bbq
After the Saturday conference, we hosted a barbecue for the evangelical missionaries, a number of which come from outside of Utah. It’s always a great time of encouragement in sharing our war stories!

We also had Priscilla Marquardt fly out from St. Louis, MO specifically to share her testimony with us at our Ex-Mormon Meetup on the 8th (see video and pictures). We were really encouraged by her testimony, and she was encouraged by meeting other Ex-Mormons who are now living for Christ.

I was also able to witness to an older LDS neighbor named Wayne. I witnessed to him out on our driveway. He was passing out fliers for some ward activities, so I asked him why he was LDS. We had a good 10-minute talk. He didn't believe that I read the Book of Mormon all the way through, and then said I was closed-minded when I read it. He said he wasn't going to question his faith, but I sure gave him a lot to question.

We really value your partnership with this ministry. We not only need your prayers, but we need your financial assistance as well. Your investment is not simply for us, but for the lives of others we reach with the gospel. The standard way to financially invest is by writing a check to Courageous Christians United (CCU). But we also have secure electronic funds transfer programs available if you are interested in the simplicity of monthly withdrawals without the stamp. This also helps us with our monthly budgeting. Please also keep in mind that, particularly in this economy, we have no financial guarantees each month. Ministry partners come and go as jobs do. For more information, please see our “Invest” page. At this point, we would like to raise at least $325 each month to cover costs. If you’re not a partner, please consider joining our team and let us know soon. Many thanks to those of you who hold us up in prayer and in your financial giving!

Be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:6),

Rob Sivulka
President, Courageous Christians United
P.O. Box 1374
West Jordan, UT 84084
(801) 738-0539
[email protected]
MormonInfo.org
JWInfo.org
MuslimInfo.org

****ADDITIONAL PRAYER REQUESTS****

1. Health & protection for our whole family
2. Tara’s and Maddi’s families to be saved
3. Wisdom in all our dealings
4. The gals attending our DivorceCare class

****MAILBAG****

To the woman who said that God had to be a man to know what we go through, did he have to be a woman to know about childbirth about periods? (You can multiply examples once you get started. :)
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I know I said $30.00 per month hower the Lord has been placing on my heart to give more. … The Lord has truly been my provider both with His great salvation and financially. I would just like to continue to enourage you in your ministries. I know there are many, including myself, who are praying for you. I am thankful that the Lord has provided for me and through that I can help provide for you.

I just have to say, I am amazed at the patience you and your cohorts at MRM [Mormonism Research Ministry] have with some of these people. I am sure that you are collecting many crowns to be thrown out to our Lord in the Heavenly’s!

Many blessing be upon you and your family and to our Great God be the Glory!!!!!!!!
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Just for the first time came across your site today and viewed your talk on joy and suffering, Amen brother, the Lord is showing me many great brothers for me to aspire to in Christ.looking forward to viewing more of your site.

Having been buffeted by Mormons as I was a member and having been shown the teeth from the beast once the Lord had carried me out(Ezekiel 34) from its deception and then to my astonishment, rejected by many Christians after leaving it and having my testimony of His loving grace in my life dismissed, it's great to find many
Ministries talking truth, the Lord is helping me discern the wheat from the chaff and leading me to find edification and consolation in those who have walked before me, here and there and every where.

I am from the UK and things are very different here than to the states obviously.Most churches are ecumenical and having been scolded by Mormonism, I have had no where to worship and no human fellowship having to avoid religious systems so finding brothers on the internet has been the Lords means of healing and settling me down in Him, I cannot express in the least the comfort and edification that many like yourself bring for the Lord for His children which He lead's out of religious systems and I felt inspired to say so after you read out those testimony's you had received because sometimes for me I worry about sounding false or proud or that I may puff someone up or that I will be dismissed because of the wounds I have suffered or I am teaching others to suck eggs but you have helped my confidence in just being honest and you helped confirm and reaffirm the importance of saying thank you like the healed leper or blind man turned and thanked the Lord for healing him, I pray many more blessings to you ward and all those that reach out to the Mormon victims and lost souls in Utah and your so right that it is in the Lords hands and the Holy Spirit nurtures all those seeds that are sown even in our weaknesses and God only knows who we may have affected and to hear that was encouraging for me because I have yet as far as I know, have won a soul for Christ and I at times get disheartened and always seem to get the ruff end of the stick but I praise and thank God for that and there are so many brethren I would love to meet having been starved of fellowship for a period and If I do not meet some of you in this life I look forward to meeting you in heaven and I pray I can point some souls to the Lord for Him to save.
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All your website did was solidify my testimony as a member of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints. Your unloving battery of a church founded by christ himself just proves that you are a false witness. I am grateful for a church of order with an established set of unmoving standards. Its funny how you will never see a member of this church go to another church and protest or demonstrate that they are wrong, because that would be unchristlike.

[I replied:] That's because you're blind & God has given you a strong delusion to believe a lie as 2 Thes. 2:11 says. Your church wasn't founded by Christ, but the devil. Speaking of "unmoving standards," do you mean like polygamy suspended in 1890 or allowing blacks to have the priesthood in 1978? So why would it be unchristlike to go to a church & demonstrate it's wrong? You came to me to demonstrate I'm wrong, so you're hypocritical. Remember Jesus going to the temple to clean it out? The problem is that you don't know Jesus. Read the New Testament.

[He replied:] Calling someone a hypocrite is not a way to get them to agree with you. I do know Jesus Christ, I find it funny to opose something you know very little about. Something that I know to be truth will never be takin from me. I was not always a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I used to be a member of a non-denomination christian church and believe me Christ isn't there. I have always been taught to set high goals, so that even if I do not achieve them I am still among the best, this church, Christ's church, allows me to do this. I know truths men search their whole lives to never find. If you knew what I and the rest of the members knew you wouldn't do what you do. All I ask for is your respect of my freedom of religion afforded to me in the bill of rights. And when that time comes when we find out which path is correct, then either one of us can tell the other, I told u. Until then it is best to be respectful and not tell someone they belong to a church of the devil when indeed you do not know that to be true. Fellowship is the way of Christ. Not hurt and name calling.

[I replied:] I was stating a truth just like Jesus did to the religious leaders of His day. If you had read Mat. 23, you would know that. If He called them hypocrites, then I can call you one for coming to me and criticizing me and then telling me that I shouldn't criticize.

I don't know why you seem to assume that I don't give or uphold religious freedom. I preach and people can believe what they want. I don't stick a gun to anyone's head.

I do know that 1 Ne. 14:10 is true. There are only 2 churches--1 is of the Lamb and the other is of the devil. So it should be obvious to you which one I *know* the LDS Church is. You don't think I know, but that's your problem. I know that I know that Mormonism is counterfeit Christianity on the basis of what God's trustworthy word has already revealed. Anything that contradicts that is to be damned according to the Lord's apostle in Gal. 1:6-9. My Home page chart of differences between Mormonism and Christianity on www.MormonInfo.org clearly demonstrates the false gospel Mormonism is. As a result, I am commanded not to have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness (Eph. 5:11).

[He replied:] Please explain how you "know" the church to which I belong is false. Please provide any scriptural backing to your claim. I garuntee you there isn't any.

[I replied:] As I already said, "My Home page chart of differences between Mormonism and Christianity on www.MormonInfo.org clearly demonstrates the false gospel Mormonism is." All the scriptural backing is there. Plus, I've prayed about it after reading through all the LDS scriptures, and those are also clearly given on the Home page chart of MormonInfo.org. God told me by the power of the Holy Ghost that Mormonism is counterfeit Christianity.

[He replied:] That's exactly what I thought, your website is not proof and your claims are absurd. If you have not been given the holy ghost by proper authority and therefore have been misguided. Thank you so much for your uneducated opinions. Perhaps next time, have some valid theories into your claims and maybe people will take you seriously. I find it particularly funny that when you demonstrate against the church I know to be true, that you stand alone. Take it as a sign. No one wants to be associated with someone who spreads lies. So stop. You're only embarassing yourself.
Romans 16:17-18
I know the truth!

[I replied:] So in other words, you don't want to deal with the biblical arguments presented on my site & just name-call them as "absurd." Well, there's really nothing more for me to say then if I can't respond to any argument, since there isn't one here. The only possible argument you have is that I stand alone. But that's just ignorant. My friends go out together and work different areas. And even if that wasn't the case, many prophets in the Bible went out alone to speak the truth. So go ahead and continue believing in your pagan fertility cult in which your God has sex with His many wives to produce us in a pre-earth life (which implies God has a favorite sexual position). Don't say one day when you stand before the Most High that I didn't warn you.

[He replied:] If you're going to make acusations make sure you have the right info sir. You understanding of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a false understanding. I feel pity towards people like yourself who do nothing but bash others beliefs. There is a line between spreading truths and bashing and you crossed that line long ago. Like you said there is only one true church and I am a member of it. When your judgement day comes you will be judged based on your work here on earth and I am sure bashing Christ won't get you on his good side. Do yourself and your friends a favor and learn. Become educated and stop bashing other people.

[I replied:] Where is my belief about Mormonism false? Tell me and then I'll give you the LDS source for it like I did on my Home page chart of difference.

You're also ignorant in claiming that I do "nothing but bash others [sic] beliefs." I do many other things which you're just unaware of. But if you can bash my beliefs, then I can bash yours.

God has sent you a strong delusion to believe a lie as 2 Thes. 2:11 says, and that's why you're in the church of the devil. Thus, I'm not bashing Christ; I'm bashing the devil, and he seems pretty upset about it.

[He replied:] You are very uninformed. Gool luck with your momron bashing ways! Hope it makes you happy and fulfills your life. No further communication is necessary. I can't argue with a moron.
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Hey, you are a Big encouragement in my life, more than you know. Thank you for being so Faithful. Hope to see you guys in April or June. Take care Brother
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Hi! I accidentally came across your webpage while looking for a video on having faith in Christ. I never write to anyone regarding things like this but I can't ignore the sick feeling I have inside me after just reading a little of what you had posted on your website about mormons. Like you, we as Latter Day Saints, are Christian and believe that Christ loved us so much that he suffered for our sins so that we could be forgiven when we have sinned. I'm sure you've failed to notice but one thing I truly love about the LDS church is that we never badmouth other religions. In fact, we are taught to always respect others and their religions as there is good in a lot of other denominations. Doesn't it seem odd that all these other religions have to hold classes and training about how bad we as "mormons" are? Yet, we never hold or teach classes on avoiding other religions, etc. Everyone is entitled to their own feelings and beliefs. We are all taught as Christians to be aware of false prophets as is also mentioned in Jeremiah 14:14. Unfortunately, I feel you are doing exactly what we are told to be aware of and avoid. When our wonderful prophet speaks to us, it is a feeling of peace and a message that helps ALL be better people. He never talks bad about other religions or people but tells us to beware of the evil that is out there in the world. He talks of serving others and mourning with those that mourn. Yes, all the things that our Savior, Jesus Christ, told us and showed us to do. Whether you believe what we as members of The Church of Jesus Christ believe or not, don't you think you ought to respect all who are just trying to do what they feel is right to return to our loving Heavenly Father no matter what religion they are? As we've been taught in John 3:15, those that believe in Him shall have eternal life. Last I checked, you are not the judge of that.

I know, without a doubt, through much study and prayer that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the only true church on the face of the earth at this time. I know that it is lead and guided by a true prophet, Thomas S. Monson, who is inspired to say the things that will better us as people and help us return to our Savior. I know that our Heavenly Father and elder brother Jesus Christ love each of us as we are ALL His children. His only desire is for us to do the best we can so that we can return to live with Him. I am so grateful that we know that our families can be together forever as my family means more than you could imagine to me. Most importantly, I'm grateful for Jesus Christ and all he suffered so that we could be forgiven when we have done wrong.

I'm sorry for how you feel towards my religion and hope you haven't been wronged by a member of our church causing you to act this way. If you have, all I can say is that we are all human and imperfect and no matter our religion or beliefs, we all make mistakes. I think it's wonderful to share how you feel about Jesus Christ and try to help people find Him but please, don't talk wrongfully of other religions. That truly is not of Christ. Let us be as Paul taught in Romans 13:8 and show love one to another.

Thanks!

[I replied:]

I obviously think on the basis of the reasons given in my www.MormonInfo.org Home page chart that LDS are false Christians. They follow a false Christ, who isn’t as Romans 9:5 says, “over all, God blessed forever.” If Mormonism isn’t counterfeit Christianity, then I don’t know who is. Jesus warned of false Christs and prophets in Mat. 24:24.

Now if Mormonism never bad mouths other religions, then what about your own scripture? D&C 1:30 says you’re the only true church (you just “bad mouthed” me by telling me that’s what you think of your own church). 1 Ne. 14:10 says there are only 2 churches—1 of the Lamb & the other of the devil. Joseph Smith, History 1:19, in the PGP condemns all other denominations, creeds, & professors as all corrupt (there being good in all churches not withstanding). What’s the point of Mormonism if it isn’t a “restoration” of the true Church Christ established? So if you guys can say this stuff, then as a Christian, I’m going to defend my faith.

As a result, we don’t teach classes on how to avoid you guys. We teach classes on how to confront you guys and defend our faith and persuade you to repent of your false belief system. And if you don’t see how you’re “bad mouthing” me and what I believe called me to do, then I think you’re being myopic. As such, you’re hypocritical. You can defend your faith to me, but I’m not supposed to defend my faith against your own blasphemous scripture?

Your feeling of peace is delusional and is leading you to hell. Many people are happy & peaceful in their religions, but are headed to hell simply because they are more in love with their feelings than they are God and His word. The Lord Jesus called people hypocrites, false prophets, blind guides, white-washed sepulchers filled with dead men’s bones, children of the devil (Jn. 8:44—so note, we aren’t all His children who have rights to a special relationship with Him), etc., and if I’m going to be His disciple, then I’ve got to preach everything He did (cf. Mt. 23 & 28:19). He told me to make righteous judgments in Jn. 7:24 & that’s part of using the mind He gave me in avoiding false prophets.

I know that you’ve received from God, as 2 Thes. 2:11 says, “a strong delusion to believe a lie.” I also know that your best is “filthy rags” according to Isa. 64:6. You stand guilty before Him, and you are in need of His free gift to pay the debt that you could never pay (e.g., Eph. 2:8-9). I know I’m going to be with my family with God for eternity, since we all have received that free gift. But I love God more than my family anyway, and I’d rather be with Him even if my family isn’t with me.

I’ve never been LDS & my views on Mormonism have nothing to do with any LDS offending me in any way. My views have been formed by reading all the LDS scriptures, and seeing how they contradict what God’s always said in His Bible, which cannot be broken (Jn. 10:35). My views have also been formed by praying about all the LDS scriptures.

The one who wrote that we are too love in Rom. 13:8 also told us to tear down arguments against Christ in 2 Cor. 10:4-5. If that’s not the case, then you weren’t loving me by writing me the way you did. However, true love warns. “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects (1 Cor. 13:6-7).

[She replied:] I'm sorry you feel the way you do. It's obvious you've read alot of anti-mormon literature and that is fine. What suits and entertains you is your decision. It scares me to think what Christ you follow if you think ours is false. Maybe you ought to go inside one of our church buildings and just look at the pictures to clear up your confusion on that.

I apologize for miswording you teaching classes on how to confront us, not avoid us. We don't do that either. My testimony (beliefs) is my own and noone can change that. I would never need to be "taught" how to confront others in order to hold on to my beliefs. It doesn't matter what religion you are, I know many who have come and gone from every religion out there. And believe it or not, I don't condone anyone for doing what they feel is right. What I don't appreciate is people stating untrue accusations about a religion on a website. Defending your faith is one thing but condoning another religion is not defending your faith. I defend my faith when others are incorrect; otherwise I live each day normally just as everyone else doing my best to be the best person I can be. I don't go around finding a religion I can talk badly about.

I'm sorry you feel to judge me so much by assuming myself and others are headed to hell. I guess I'm a little afraid of judging others after reading Matthew 7:1-2. As I don't know you and don't know your heart, you don't know me nor anything about who I am. I would hope you would be one who wants to please Jesus Christ and serve others. However; no matter what you do isn't up to me to judge where you're going. And I would hope to never do that to you or anyone else for that matter.

I appreciate you sharing how you feel and am sorry you feel the way you do. I've read many of the anti mormon literature myself many years ago and they do a great job at cross referencing the Bible and the Book of Mormon. They also do a terrific job at misinterprating alot of things. Thank you for taking the time to hear how you've made me feel. I will agree to completely disagree with you as I don't need to waste anymore of my time. I'm not at all concerned about your website affecting me or any other Latter Day Saints; I just don't like the sick feeling I got from seeing it. That is not the feeling I expect to get when I'm trying to grow closer to Christ. Thanks again!

[I replied:] I'm sorry you feel the way you do. Actually, I've read a lot of Mormon literature, and that's why I'm not LDS. I believe in a much more powerful and gracious Christ than Mormonism teaches--one who creates everything outside His own Being and one who saves simply on the basis of His good mercy and grace. The pictures in LDS wards don't teach this.

I don't confront and defend my faith in order to hold onto my beliefs either. My beliefs are set, and just as you send out missionaries to see conversions, I and my fellow missionaries do the same thing to lost souls like Mormons. It seems clear that you're talking bad about my religion and my beliefs and how I need to go out to preach and persuade people through the Spirit. So if you can do that, then so can I. As for Mat. 7:1-2, please see my FAQ.

You mentioned me "misinterpreting" things. Like what?

Your an addict to your feelings, and they are keeping you from the cross and your need of redemption.
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We are so proud of you Rob! You and yours are in our prayers.

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