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Sivulkas went through the Ogden Temple the opening day.
Sivulkas went through the Ogden Temple the opening day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ogden Temple Outreach Report

 

Introduction

 

Last month of ministry was centered on the newly refurbished LDS temple in downtown Ogden, Utah. There is a public open house that will go until September 6th. Ogden is an hour north of where we live. I have been going up usually 3 times a week to witness there. I hand out Mormonism Research Ministry’s temple paper as well as the Jesus Christ/Joseph Smith DVDs. I also advertise my web site: MormonInfo.org/JosephLied.com. As always with these events, I am able to see the stats go up for my site and I am able to get into a number of great conversations. As crowds gather on the corner, I typically preach: “I love you guys and I’m simply trying to warn you. So please don’t be afraid to check out my site JosephLied.com to get another point of view. I wasn’t afraid when I read your scriptures all the way through. I prayed sincerely about them, and God told me by the power of the Holy Spirit that they aren’t of Him. So you guys can read a few pages of what I believe. It is only the cults that keep you in fear from checking out other people's material.”

This ministry is mostly tilling a very hard ground. A good bit of it is simply trying to get LDS interested in thinking for themselves instead of always falling back on their “testimony” or “burning in their bosom.” LDS at these events, for the most part, act like a bunch of robots who will not engage me, but the good news is that many are going to the privacy of their own home to check my web site out… and “JosephLied.com” is one that easily sticks in their minds! When I use the term “cults” in my preaching on the corner, it is not a direct reference to them (although I certainly believe it applies to them). Using the term motivates them to prove to me as well as themselves that they aren't in a cult and they'll at least go look up my site.

 

New believer Mo
New believer Mo
The Best News  

 

The other week, Mo prayed with me to receive Christ. He moved out here 8 to 9 months ago from TN. He liked Jesus, but had no religious affiliation. He came by to find out what I was doing and he got more than he ever thought. I also gave him a crash course on the false prophets of Mormonism including their racism. Pray for him as he begins his new life. One LDS lady came by while we were talking to tell him to call the missionaries over and pray about the Book of Mormon. As we ended, I referred Mo to a couple local Christian churches and prayed for God to protect and use Him. Other Christian workers reported meeting him the following week. Mo told them how shocked he was about what he learned about Mormonism from me.

 

Various Help

 

The primary help came from Eric Johnson and Randy Sweet of Mormonism Research Ministry. www.MRM.org  They are out there quite a bit. In addition to handing out the temple papers, they get out the late LDS President Spencer Kimball's book The Miracle of Forgiveness and ask LDS if they are doing the perfection advocated in it. Here’s a video of some of their work seen through Eric’s eyes. 

 

Various other Christians come by sporadically to help. One local guy came by to hold my sign up and preach for a bit. Other locals have been out with their own signs or to pass their tracts or the temple papers out: Chris and Vicky Jenkins, Debra Cole, and Ellie May. John Kauer of Think About Eternity Ministries occasionally takes a 2-hour train ride up from Santaquin, UT. Randy and Mary Gavin also have been out with their big sign truck circling the temple. The truck reads “What Mormons DontTell . Com.”

 

Eric and Randy
Eric and Randy
Jordan

 

Jordan came up to get a paper from me outside the Ogden temple. He's a very personable LDS guy and has recently discovered how false his religion is due to historical fact checking. This came about from finding out about LDS John Dehlin (Mormon Stories Podcast) and Kate Kelly. Jordan’s wife is sympathetic, but they really don't want to leave at this point due to how good the family structure is. I got to give him some proofs for God's existence and Christ being worthy of believing even if we can't make sense of certain biblical issues. He also let me pray for him.

 

The Attractive Going to Hell?

 

Some LDS gal asked me, "Do we look like people who are going to hell?" The implication was that they were nice looking in their Sunday best, and of course those people aren't going to hell. As she was walking away, I told her that the Bible says man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. I also told her that LDS have corrupt hearts, since they're on a worthiness trip. According to God, "All your own righteousness are as filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6). LDS need to be born-again just like those who don't look as nice as them.

 

A Danite

 

Some guy came up to me last night and stuck his middle finger in my face. He said he's a Danite and beats the %&&$ out of people like me. I got right next to him and calmly told him I loved him in spite of his anger issues. He admitted to having a problem with that, so I told him that Jesus could come into his life and begin working on that if he'd let Him. He left still not happy about me being there.

 

An Unusual Night of Dialogue

 

One night, I was in dialogues for most of the time, and didn't leave until really late. There was very little preaching and papers getting out, and the stats on the site were obviously down because of it, but evidently these people I talked with needed it. I talked with Jay on and off for about 3 hours since he was a city info/welcome guy and was standing on the corner with me. At the end of my time, an LDS guy and an agnostic guy came by to join in, so I was there for another hour. During that time, an LDS traffic worker stopped by to shake my hand and tell me how much he appreciated me being there respectfully warning people.

 

Moths to the Light

 

Shane is a parking/traffic worker for the temple open house. He saw my lighted JosephLied.com sign and walked across the street to find out what I believe. We got right into the Trinity and monotheism vs. LDS polytheism. Very open to what I had to say, but had a difficult time wrapping his mind around it. May God give him eyes to see!
Another nice LDS parking/traffic worker told me, "It was an honor sharing the street with you tonight." He as well as a number of other LDS said how much they love my flashing shirt even though they disagree with its content.

 

Do you really think the lighted web site is going to be easily forgotten?

 

Confrontations with Police

 

I have had a total of 5 confrontations with cops so far! This has been one of the worst times with cops at a temple opening in quite a while. At the first confrontation, not long after just starting this outreach, a cop tells me that there's a city ordinance barring long poles for picket signs! Then he tells me no yelling or heated arguments that others would call disorderly conduct. When I told the cop that heated arguments are done in congress, he said that's in a building! So basically, if anyone doesn't like me preaching loudly, they can call the cops and call it disorderly conduct! Nonetheless, I had to put my pole back in my car and get quite an upper body work out by holding the sign simply with my hands.

 

Later that night, another cop showed me the city ordinances and told me that my wood lighted sign is illegal, since it's wood and not some other material like cardboard!!!!

 

On another occasion, the cops came by to take my ID and talk to me about a call they got from a family saying I was making racial slurs. I was just quoting the Book of Mormon how God cursed others with dark skin and as they repented, their skins became white (3 Ne. 2:14-16). The family had some black members in it. Cops ended up giving me my ID back and telling me to be polite. I responded by telling them that I’m doing the best I can, but it’s difficult when I’m dealing with such touchy subjects.

 

On another occasion, it really wasn't a confrontation. Two cops asked me to come over to talk to them about why I feel so important to be out there doing what I’m doing. This turned out to be a good conversation in which I got to share the gospel with them. They claimed they were both non-religious.

 

The final confrontation had to do with me allegedly impeding pedestrian traffic. I was also really surprised by this, since people were moving freely by me. If ever I realized I was in someone’s way, I was quick to move. It just struck me the other day that if I'm impeding traffic as a cop told me, then so are LDS ushers. They are usually standing talking to others exactly where I was talking to others! But of course I get singled out. The cop made me and Debra Cole, who was working with me at the time, stand on the grass corners. Here’s a video I put together of this last confrontation. 

 

Phoenix Temple Opening

The Phoenix temple is having an open house October 10th – November 1st. If you believe in these outreaches, then I need your support in getting down to Phoenix. The cost for my trip to the Gilbert, AZ temple at the beginning of the year for a week cost around $400 to $500, so I am looking to raise around that amount for this upcoming trip. I need to book my tickets soon as air fares continue to climb.

We Need Your Partnership!

 

We not only need your prayers, but we need your financial assistance as well. Keep in mind that 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). For more information on various ways to invest in this ministry, including online giving, please see our “Invest” page on any of our sites. Please keep in mind 1) this is our sole source for income, and 2) we have no financial guarantees each month. Ministry partners come and go as jobs do. If you’re not a partner, please consider joining our team and let us know soon. We’d love to be your missionaries here in Utah. Many thanks to those of you who hold us up in prayer and in your financial giving! 

 

We expect God to provide for our needs through you. Why? Because the Bible is clear: “the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:14).

 

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Be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:6)!

Rob Sivulka
President, Courageous Christians United
P.O. Box 1374                                           
West Jordan, UT 84081
(801) 738-0539
CourageousChristiansUnited.org
MormonInfo.org
JWinfo.org
MuslimInfo.org

 

****ADDITIONAL PRAYER REQUESTS****

1. Health and protection for our whole family
2. Tara’s family to be saved
3. Wisdom in all our dealings
4. Strength to keep going
5. Pay off our large debt from medical and dental expenses

****MAILBAG****

Just watched this [video]!  Sad I didn't sooner.  It was great to hear both of your testimonies again!  Love that God used Bekah so much in that story!  :)  Love you guys and very proud to call you friends and fellow brother/sister in Christ!
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Elijah on the mountain, John the Baptist in the wilderness, Peter to the masses - they would have been encouraged to have you at their sides.
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They spoke of course of the burning in the bosom and that they think you could tell the difference if it was Satan or God giving them an answer. One of them said he was doubting and asked fopr an answer but had this over powerful and yes as I experienced as a Mormon supernatural feeling. They say it was in the bible and the only thing I remember about a burning in your heart was the walk with Jesus post resurrection. What do I say to them? They want to come back. Maybe they will bring a bigger player lol. I would set a meeting for the 4 of us if so ;) How do you deal with the Burning in the bosom argument?

[I replied: Here’s an FAQ I have written on the subject.] The disciples' hearts burned within them on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:32) only while Jesus showed them all the scriptures from the Old Testament about Him.  That's quite different from Jesus showing them other scriptures that contradict the Bible and asking them to pray about it to see if they were true or not.  Christ never asks this to determine truth.  The burning comes naturally as we listen to God's word.  It's a good feeling that gives us passion, but it's not a [reliable] source to determine truth.  The Bible speaks clearly against that.
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[In reference to MuslimInfo.org:] Hey, I like this site already. Thanks for putting it up.
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[In reference to Tara:] Her "testimony out of the church" in reality is a confession of her sins and rebellion and the inevitable consequences of taking such a path, and as I have already stated, there is nothing new about that.

Hope that you and your wife can someday find peace, my friend.

[I replied:] Since she accepted Christ about 11 years ago, He has begun to work in her life from the inside.  She no longer felt the burden of keep an external check list in order to gain favor with God.  She did that by faith after realizing all that He did for her.  Now her desires have completely changed.  Though not perfect, Christ continues to transform her and I every day as we trust Him.   We have peace with God through what Jesus has done in removing our debt completely as Rom. 5:1 says.  We don't have to worry about if we've done enough, since He did it all.  May you experience that peace that is truly life transforming.

[He replied:] You and your wife are on the Road to Damascus, and either in this life or the next, the Lord is going to call you to account.

Take care, my friend.

[I replied:] You've got a false Lord, and idolaters will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9).

[He replied:] Imagine if your neighbor and his wife started a ministry and they called it Courageous Christianos Unidos and their mission was to carefully watch you and your family to see if you did anything wrong, even innocently, and to take whatever you said or did and place it in the most negative light possible so as to embarrass you and your ministry. And imagine if they came to your sacred place of worship and carried huge hand held signs that read, ROB AND TARA LIED.com, and used bullhorns to harass you and your wife and children while you sought to worship in peace. And they did all of this in the name of The Prince of Peace, constantly justifying their mean-spirited actions in His holy name.

And then imagine, if you can... your neighbors were paid to do it.

This is your life Rob and God only knows the heartache, shame, tears and endless sleepless nights you and Tara have caused her family... that's a burden you will have to carry with you for the rest of your life.

And here's an example of how your ministry is viewed, Rob, by someone who has left the church - "You know, even though I am out, I wouldn't give those guys a moment of my time, because THEY'RE NOT INTERESTED IN TRUTH."

And then you say to me, "You've got a false Lord." And I say to you, that was what those who claimed to be Christians said before they massacred countless Muslims. And they have said that for the last 2,000 years to justify torturing and murdering Jews by the millions. And that is what they said before they sought to kill every Native American on this continent... and of course that is what these good "Christians" said before they sought to exterminate the members of the Savior's church in these, the last days.

You can tell how well people honor the first great commandment to love God with all their heart, by how well they honor the second great commandment to love their neighbor as themself.

You see, Rob, as the author of Ecclisiastes aptly wrote... there is no new thing under the sun. There is and always will be people in this world who think they are serving the Lord but in reality are serving Satan.

"There are none so blind... as those who will not see."

I apologize for having to be so blunt, Rob, but you are blind... and I have told you the truth this day. I sincerely hope you will humble yourself and abandon what you are doing and pray and seek the Lord's help in finding a legitimate way to support your family... otherwise you will someday, from the vantage point of eternity, deeply regret what you have done.

Again, I am sorry for using such forceful language, but I am trying to get you to wake up and salvage your life... not only for your benefit, but also for Tara's and your children's benefit.

Your TRUE friend in Texas.

[I replied:] And if you can be so blunt, so can we.  The pain we inflict is nothing compared to the pain we are trying to save you and all the other unbelievers from.  Of course unbelievers are blind and assume I have no interest in the truth.  Others who have eyes to see claim the exact opposite.  I am a true friend to cultists who don't want to hear the truth, and as Proverbs says, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend." 

As for the Muslim comment, I do run www.MuslimInfo.org too, but I'm not chopping anyone's heads off for my beliefs.  I'm simply doing what the followers of Christ did in the Bible... particularly the apostles, many of whom died for their faith because people got so irritated with their message.


[He replied:] You neglected to answer my question as to the last time you prayed and asked forgiveness for your sins, and if you did, what did you feel?

 

And I want you to do something else... tell me three good things about the lds church.

By the way, Tara may follow you in your efforts to undermine the Savior's church but deep down inside she knows the truth, and that witness was given to her from the Spirit of the Lord from an early age. Because of that she harbors a hidden resentment in her heart against you for leading her astray and in moments of quiet reflection she worries about the path she and her children will take in the future.

As the husband, father and patriarch in your family the Lord expects you, Rob, to lead your family in the right direction... not astray.

I have told you the truth from start to finish, and my hands are clean. I pray you heed the warnings.

Your friend in Texas

[I replied:] Last time I prayed to ask forgiveness was the other day.  It felt good.  I should do it more, but I don't.  Regardless, my repentance will never be perfect until I'm perfect and I don't need to do it anymore.  That's only going to be when I'm with the Lord.  And I'm assured of that because of what He's done for me.  That's not something Mormonism offers given the 3rd Article of Faith and 2 Nephi 25:23 and Moroni 10:32.  That's why it's no wonder that Utah is #1 in prescription antidepressant use.  There's no real good news or gospel in Mormonism.

Here are 3 good things about the church of the devil that you belong to... #1 promotes good family values, #2 provides an accountable community, and #3 it teaches that prayer is important.  Nonetheless, the Bible teaches all your righteousness are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).

I had nothing to do with Tara's conversion.  That came years before I came on the scene.  She knows the truth, and appreciates the godly influence I have on her and our kids.

I pray I'm having a godly influence on you too.  You'll never be a God of your own world.  You'll never have spirit children worship you to the exclusion of the God of this world.  You'll never be that worthy.  But I know the Only Worthy One, and He wants to give you life.


[He replied:] Please answer this question... when was the last time you humbled yourself and prayed for forgiveness of your sins? And if you did, was there a palpable lifting of the burden of sin from off you, and how did you feel afterwards? Were you peaceful, feeling as though you could not hurt anyone or anything?

And now one final question, my Utah friend... were you abused heavily and/or abandoned as a child?

Take care,

Your friend in Texas

By the way, if you did endure a lot of problems as a child, please do not dwell on it nor give me the details because that could be unnerving and risky for you... which I do not want.

You may not believe it, but nevertheless it's true...

I do care for you.

when we die our spirit will separate from our body and pass into eternity and as we do our conscience will be restored and we will find we can remember every detail of our lives. then you and i and tara and her family and your family and her ancestors and yours will know if you were serving the lord or not.

take care, my friend

[I replied:] I already told you about asking for forgiveness, and yes, I was humbled when I did it.  I also wasn't abused as a kid.  I was raised in a good Christian family.  Your psychoanalysis has nothing to do with what the truth is.  That has already been clearly spelled out in the Bible, and the Apostle Paul said that if we or an angel from heaven give you any other gospel than that which has already been given, then it's to be damned (Gal. 1:6-9).  Mormonism has been proven false by God's word, and it has also been proven false by its own historical record.  Please fact check your own religion.  Try the Book of Abraham for starters.  You're living in a fairy tale religion.
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I live in Ogden UT. I do not "believe" in religion. However, I am a kind, compassionate and loving person. My questions are: Why did I see a "protester" outside of the new Ogden Morman Temple yesterday holding up a sign to direct me to this website? Does your "God" invite these type of "jihad" movements against other religions? Is this the "Christ Like" way of testifying? Are people like this showing what the true spirit of Christ is like? Your protester, in my opinion, put a negative connotation to the beautiful and serene picture I saw of many people quietly and respectfully visiting a house of "God". I feel your protester was without Love and Compassion and Kindness and truly does not represent what Jesus would of done. Where in your bible does it say that Jesus stood on a street corner protesting another person's faith? Help me to understand this, because I feel the protester is wanting to stir up a religious war here in Ogden UT. What sorrow~what shame. I truly feel sadness for this person. There must be something written in your Bible where God directs you to interfere with other person's beliefs. Where's the Love?

[I replied:] I was the one you saw out front of the LDS temple in Ogden the other day.  I also consider myself a kind, compassionate, and loving person.  So much so that I warn others of the hell that awaits them if they don't repent (cf. Luke 13:3).

I think your "jihad" comment actually minimizes the hurt that Christians are going through now in getting their heads chopped off by Islamic radicals. 

Your comments actually belie the fact that you haven't really read the Bible.  If you had, you would have read all sorts of passages of Jesus and His disciples confronting unbelievers.  So please... just read the New Testament.  Even if you haven't read the Bible, I would think that living in western society that you would just know that Jesus wasn't crucified for making everyone feel wonderful.

Also, you seem to be blinded to the fact that you are interfering with my religious beliefs, which tell me to interfere with others' beliefs.  So if you can do it, then certainly so can I.  You're being hypocritical here.

Finally, here's a short video clip from famous atheist Penn telling you how much he appreciated a Christian being consistent with his beliefs concerning heaven and hell.  If Christians really believed this, then of course they'd be out trying to warn others.

Best,

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Thank you for doing this website. I'm a Bible believer in Jesus Christ, and I've been looking for a good site to help me witness to my mormon friends. This is a wonderful resource!
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was reading Ezek 33 and thought of you, and all the others trying to warn the Mormons that the real God is coming. Sounding the trumpet so to speak!
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All these testimonies are full of crazy thoughts/lies from crazy people. Mormons are christian and we dont just worship from the book of mormon, we read the bible just as much as the book of mormon...whatever drugs you people were given to believe the mormon church is a lie, well im sorry and I feel bad for you. Youre missing out on a great life as a mormon
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I wanted to thank Rob for this site . I used today In witnessing to a JW at my door. http://www.jwinfo.org/


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