Phone Call
Last month, I received a phone call from Ken, who recently left the LDS Church in Canada. He had some questions about the Church and the leadership told him not to look at the internet. So what do you think he did? When he did, he found me and other sources and he started asking more questions. All the LDS leaders told him was that he was going to lose his family. He loves Jesus and is looking around at churches. I ended our long conversation by praying for him.
I shared this information on our Facebook forum. A local Canadian Christian friend, who does outreach to Mormons, called Ken and eventually met with him.
Please say a quick prayer for Ken and his LDS family, who aren't interested at all in seeing what he's learned. His story is more encouragement to advertise my site all over the place!
Temple Square Evangelism
My advertising and evangelism continued outside Temple Square almost up until Christmas. Thank God that the weather cooperated! We had record-breaking warm temperatures until Christmas when the snow moved in. The stats for web site visits were through the roof as expected! I was able to preach and advertise to literally tens of thousands!
I'd usually start out preaching, "I love you guys and want to wish you a Merry Christmas, and this is the best gift I can give you. So please check out JosephLied.com." From there I would go on to explain the differences between the Mormon God and the God of the Bible, particularly about how the former is burdensome and the latter is freeing. Typically, I would have several minutes to preach to a crowd before the light would change. When the Trax train would come by, I’d have even longer to preach!
One lady walked past me and told me that my sign and greeting really isn’t a Merry Christmas. Another guy walked past me telling his kids that I was Satan. Despite the negative attention, I was also able to get into many conversations with curious people who simply wanted to know what Joseph lied about. A number of these allowed me to pray for them!
Typically, I’d start by responding, “A month before he was killed, Joseph said in History of the Church 6:411 that he was a monogamist. LDS.org in their Gospel Topics section has recently stated that it's true that Joseph had 30 to 40 wives at the time." Then I go into details (e.g., 11 of those wives were currently married to other men when he married them). I’d also say how he lied about who God is, Jesus is, what the gospel is, Smith lied about translating the Book of Abraham, Kinderhook Plates, etc., etc.
Meetup
Last month Sonja Usher shared her testimony and the ministry she is involved in. You can watch her testimony here and see the pictures here.
We Need a New Laptop
Our relatively new laptop (about a year and a half old) broke the other day, and we need a new one. Yes, it’s no longer under warranty. Tara and I both do ministry on it. Tara keeps the books and pays the bills, and I use it on occasion to work remotely. The Bible teaches that “you have not, because you ask not” (James 4:2). So we’re asking you to send a special gift in for a new laptop, or one of you may have one you’d be willing to donate to us.
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).
Happy New Year!
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 primarily from medical and dental expenses
****MAILBAG****
Hi Rob, I listened to an audio of yours here http://www.watermark.org/media/what-do-mormons-believe-part-1/995/ and wanted to thank you for putting together the Mornominfo.org website. It is very helpful in clearly and briefly showing a comparison of beliefs. I will be sharing this information with the Mormons I interact with.
...Praying God will reach many Mormons through you Rob, thanks again for all you do in His name!
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Joseph did not lie!!!! Why don't you go to an Mormon church one Sunday and find out the truth!
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Mike Norton, who originated www.JosephLied.com, passed this onto me:
"Hi Mike,
I hope this finds you well and having a great day so far.
Strange question for you...Were you at the Sacramento, CA Temple open house holding a "Josephlied.com" sign? I think that must have been 2006. I was a strong member back then and I saw a lone man holding the sign quietly and respectfully and it made an impact that I never forgot. Years later, when I had real questions (and I was brave enough to ask them) I remembered that man and realized he wasn't sad and mislead like I told myself he was.
He was right. I was wrong.
So, I was just curious if that was you. Whomever it was, he made an impression, a crack in my testimony. I always secretly admired a well-done protest and his simplicity and courage were fascinating.
Of course it took six more years to ask myself the hard questions but over the course of those years, I would think of that man holding the sign outside the temple and wonder what drove him to have such conviction.
Have a great day. My thanks to you and all the other ex-mo's who keep up the good fight for those who can't yet.”
[I replied:] Thanks for the encouragement to keep going. I never went to the Sacramento temple, so it was someone else. It's obvious that advertising works. I've been preaching using a lighted JL.com sign outside the temple the past 2 Saturdays, and every Saturday and Sunday the stats significantly jump.
[Mike responded:] "Joseph Lied" really sticks in their heads. I've seen the sign made outta lights. It looks awesome.
Keep up the good work.
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You have hatred and intolerance in your heart. I am not religious, but if there is a divine being in this universe, he will not view your hypocrisy and hatred in good light. I have very devout Mormon family members, and i can tell you that your interpretations of the religion are so far from how members are taught. Who are you to judge others? If their Mormon faith brings them joy and hope, who the hell are you to say they are going to hell? That is where you will end up because of your hatred for a religion you don't even half-understand. I pity you.
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Okay, Rob. Whatever. My name is Glenn and I am writing you to let you know that I have been studying the so called christian worldview for some time now. I must admit that I disagree with your position on the subject 100%. Why are you guys so hung up on calling it the christian worldview and claiming that it is still biblical christianity? My position is and always has been that christianity is not biblical at all. Nor do I believe that christianity is true. I believe in the gospel of jesus christ. I believe that jesus is the truth. he said so. I must apologize for my rant. I have been growing very angry with the christian church for many years now and cannot buy into it no matter how many times i get saved or baptized. (your supposed to get saved once) i get that (whatever). i have tried to understand systematic theology from the evangelical perspective and find myself agreeing with David C. Pack and Shawn MCraney and feeling a deep rooted anger in my heart for ministries like yours. notice i bashed your ministry and not you personally. whatever. i know how your little headgames work. anyway. please forgive my rant. i do not usually write like this but after tonight browsing you and shawn on youtube i'm just mad all over again and i can't help it. i don't even know what i'm mad at half of the time. i'm no scholar. i just want to know why you guys are so focused on the world view thing and why you hate mormons so much. i hope i did not offend you. please pray for me and i will be praying for you (if my prayers really matter). anyway. god help us and happy new year...
ps. by the way, i get that you don't hate the lds. you just want to give em jesus. okay, dude...
[I replied:] Hi Glenn, Thanks for the rant. The Christian worldview is the biblical worldview. That's has been agreed upon now for over 2,000 years by Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox. You, Pack, and McCraney may disagree with that, but I deem the 2,000 years of what C. S. Lewis called "Mere Christianity" to be vastly more authoritative. As for hating LDS, it looks like you answered that in your "ps." I'm open for specific problems if you have them, but as is, this is the best I can do.
Your bro,
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Subject: doctrine
you are an idiot
[I replied:] Well at least I'm not dumb enough to throw ad hominems out in my arguments.
[He replied:] doesn't make you less an idiot
[I replied:] BTW, if you don't know what ad hominems are, Google them.
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Thank you Rob for your efforts to save souls through the Truth, Jesus Christ
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