June 18, 2007

Dear Family and Friends,

One day last month a girl named Charlene wrote me and left her phone number for me to call her. She wanted someone to talk her out of getting baptized into the LDS Church and wanted a copy of the Jesus Christ/Joseph Smith DVD. I called her up and explained to her my problems with Mormonism. We talked again later that night, and she told me that she just got back from a Calvary Chapel meeting and she told the LDS missionaries that she was indefinitely putting off her baptism into the LDS Church!

I was also able to witness to a few Jehovah’s Witnesses last month. One older guy named Jim came to my door by himself. We had a nice conversation talking about the deity of Christ for probably a half hour. Jim read a passage from Matthew that claims that Jesus is the Son of God. I responded that of course Christians believe that, but to them, that entails that Jesus is God the Son. I told him that because Christ is the Son, this means that He in fact has the nature of God. All other sons of God are sons in some other sense. Jesus is uniquely the Son of God since He is God over all blessed forever as Romans 9:5 says. I also went through the Revelation passages in which Jesus is claiming to be Jehovah, the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last. Jim said that Jesus was using a different sense of “first and last” than was clearly spoken by Jehovah in these passages. These were indicative of Jesus being the first one to be raised glorified from the dead. Unfortunately for Jim, this doesn’t explain how Jesus is the last glorified from the dead. No one thinks this of Jesus.

While I was out in California later to get married, Tara and I witnessed to a couple of Jehovah’s Witnesses (Zach and Michelle) who had a booth up on the San Diego Embarcadero. We went over many more passages with them in an attempt to demonstrate how Jesus was not simply less than the Father in terms of His human nature, but equal to the Father in terms of His divine nature (e.g., John 5:18-23). Since I usually focus so much time on Mormonism, it was refreshing to be able to witness to the Witnesses.

As for new items to check out on our sites, please see the discussion I have posted on “Hugh Hewitt and Mitt Romney” on MormonInfo.org. Hewitt is an Evangelical radio talk show host who is quite supportive of a Romney presidency. Also see the “Videos” page that was recently added to CourageousChristiansUnited.org. I also wrote a blog here on Al Sharpton claiming that Mormons don’t really believe in God.

Tomorrow I leave for the Manti, Utah Mormon Miracle Pageant. Tara and Maddy will join me near the end of the week. Please pray for God to use all of us to boldly and compassionately preach His word. Also pray for His protection.

Your financial contributions and prayers make this ministry possible. We need your continued support. Thank you so much for your concern and prayers for this ministry, and for those trapped by false religions and philosophies.

Rob Sivulka
President, Courageous Christians United
[email protected]

****MORE PRAYER REQUESTS****

1. For Tara's LDS family, and Jehovah's Witness friends Michelle and Jolee
2. For guidance in developing JWinfo.org
3. For Rob's continued doctoral studies at the University of Utah
4. For more salvations through this ministry
5. For our monthly ex-Mormon meetup group

****MAILBAG****

The main thing I want you to look at is how he uses the theory of relativity to try to prove that time is a "product of motion" and doesn't exist as a "universal clock" as many others believe it to be. He does that to try to argue that time did not have to have a beginning and thus avoid the problem of an eternal universe. It's very interesting, but I don't think it works. Motion does affect time, but I don't see how that means that motion created time. Also, he fails to mention how time is also affected by intense amounts of gravity. So if time is really just a product of motion, then why does gravity affect it?

[I responded:] This really isn't my field, so I'll recommend William Lane Craig's "Time and Eternity: Exploring God's Relationship to Time" (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2001). You should probably also get Craig's debate with Quentin Smith, "Theism, Atheism, and Big Bang Cosmology" (Oxford). Here are a few thoughts. There's a difference between physical time and absolute time. The former is a very relative notion. If there's no room for the latter, then it strikes me as quite bizarre to claim that this is the first email you sent me and the other ones you *sent* will come *later* *whenever* I perceive them to come.

It always makes sense to ask how long is some motion (i.e., how long does it last?). That's a question of time which is an inseparable matter. That question can be asked physically according to our clocks or other measuring devices, or it can be asked absolutely (e.g., did it happen *before* some other motion?). So if your atheist friend doesn't allow certain events to happen absolutely "before" other events, then you are again dealing with a person who is beyond medical aid and playing silly *time* consuming games with you. We have good reasons (philosophically and scientifically) for denying an actual infinite series of events prior to this present moment, and we know that all these events prior to the present moment originate from certain causes, since every event has a *preceding* cause. As such, all these events originate from a "first" or "original" event, which you and I know requires an Ultimate Cause.

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I am thankful that you have found a woman who will share in your life the blessings of the Lord and of ministry. Rob, without you I would still be LDS. Thank you for being an obedient disciple of Christ!
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Why my uncle associated or had any contact with fundamentalist Christians is beyond me. Didn't the Mormons harm him enough? Weren't his teenaged suicide attemtps my grandparents endured proof that the continual harranges and judgments hurt him enough? Do you ever think the harm you do to people when you preach your gospel of hate and fear? @*^% you for teaching those lies. Did he ask to be born differently? Did he, as you teach and believe, chose to be different? Of course not, and the fact that you believe people "chose" to be born differently only proves to me you're an idiot.

And what was his life, which ended at 52, like? Alone, alienated, grateful for the few family members who included him things. How did he fulfil his life? Once a week, he attended church services, listened to his church's webcasts, and always sat in the back pew, never staying afterwards.

People like you, your religion, are what convinced me there is no God. Again, @*^% you for trying to legislate YOUR view of morality on the world. Uncle Robert was a far superior human being that you or your born again baptist bastards could ever be. Interesting that your idol, who advised the president, was caught with a male prostitute. I assume most of you have those kinds of issues.

[I responded:] I know people who are born with being sexually oriented toward children and animals. They can't help it either. It's part of the fallen world we live in. I guess we should not ever claim that *having* sex with kids or animals is wrong according to your logic since they were simply born that way. Please. If there's no God, then on what basis do you even have for free will where I could freely choose to believe and respond to you any differently than I am? All you have is matter bumping into more matter causing certain determinate outcomes. You need to think again before it's too late, and I know your uncle would now want me to tell you as much. God will in fact judge one day. I have no ill feelings toward you or wish violence upon you or gays. That is hate, and that is exactly what you seem to have for me. I wish all the exact opposite of this. You're the one who's actually a hypocrite. Love,
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Greetings brother Rob! I read some of the materials at the mormoninfo.org website today, and I am quite encouraged to share it with others. May our Lord direct all your steps, motivate all your efforts, and provide His glorious results!
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If you derive so much pleasure from defacing anothers sacred beliefs you might want to look up the defination of christianity. Teach and preach good values... not hate. Love not anger.

[I responded:] Thanks for being so hateful and angry at me. So if you point my error out to me, doesn't that also mean that you're hateful and angry? It seems that you need to think again. I love people enough to point out their error. You're wrong and you need to repent before it's too late. Love,R
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i listened to your audio in february 2006 pretending to be a mormon on a 1 hour bus trip, well because of the noise i didnt hear the bit that you were acting. so i listened to the audio, thinking, "this mormon guy knows his stuff, defends mormonism well." i listened to it again a few months later and found out you were acting, so u did a great job of playing the part of a mormon.
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I have such a burden for the cults, and love witnessing to them more than any other group. I feel sometimes that I'm not doing enough, and like you I should hold a www.mormoninfo.org sign outside my local LDS ward…, but not stopping there. Why not the Kingdom Hall, and the Catholic Church with signs for them. I ask people what they think about that and they totally think I'm nuts. I have been asking this question to people at my church and got various answers. "What would a modern-day Paul look like in today's 21 Century?" What do you think would be a biblical answer? I thank God for His ministry through you.
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[From an elected Utah state official:] Pretty good chance I should not ask but... It is often claimed that the Book of Mormon has been changed literally hundreds of times from the original publication back in 1830-something. What do you know about this? Is there a side by side comparison? Name with held for obvious reasons

[I responded:] Thanks for asking. I'm here to provide info, not to make you feel bad. [See HERE]. I own an 1830 copy of the Book of Mormon. You can buy them at Deseret.

[This individual responded:] Thanks, interesting reading thus far. Warmest!
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Im sorry but Im out to tell you that what youre doing is not christ like in any way shape or form. I was a very strong Christian at a Covenant denominational church. I was a very anti-mormon...just as you are. I believed everything you and your followers on Mormoninfo.org preach..

However I joined the LDS church a year and a half ago....and it has been the biggest blessing in my life. Everything that you know, is mis-leading. Until you actually talk to an LDS person yourself and ask why the things in the church are the way they are, you will never find out the truth. There is so much false Doctrine out there and it is worse and worse.

You don't have to preach against us, if you truly want people to see your side of the story, you should act more christ-like......because otherwise you are wrong to judge us. Our savior and our Heavenly fathers are the ones who will judge us accordingly, and aas far as im concerned we follow Jesus Christ, and live more Christ-like than most, and therefore if we are all wrong and the booki of mormon is untrue, Our savior will love us anyways, and will forgive us for those beliefs, however will realize that we still obeyed his will....and ultimately lived better lives with less sin anyways.

Youre only going to be judged more for judging your brothers and sisters in Christ, because like it says in the Bible...We are to love everyone and not judge others, only judge ourselves...that isn't scripture word for word....but im sure you know what im refering to.

I hope you have a blessed day.....and look at your own faults before you try to judge others for their beliefs. BE LIKE CHRIST! Your sister in Christ,

[I responded:] Thanks for judging me... If you can do it, then certainly I can, especially when Christ told us to make righteous judgments (John 7:24). "For this cause God shall send them a strong delusion so that they would believe a lie" (2 Thess. 2:11).

God isn't a man who gets it on with a heavenly mother to produce us in a pre-earth life. He needs no one or anything else to become a god, and for you to buy into this Mickey Mouse god is simply blasphemy which God will one day judge you for. May the all-Holy Judge have mercy on you, and give you a heart and mind for Him before it's too late. The day of God's wrath is coming soon.

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hi rob! we just requested you as a friend. just wanted to let you know that all of the members of our band are new christians that used to be mormon. some of the songs on our sight about our conversions are "adam's road" and "stone temples." hope you enjoy them! your brothers in Christ, adam's road

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