February 8, 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

Maddi and Charis sledding in our backyard
Very good news last month! We finally have an official statement from an LDS General Authority Marlin Jensen, who is also the Church Historian and Recorder, confirming that Mormons are “leaving in droves” (according to Reuters). A Salt Lake Tribune article also said a similar thing, and ABC TV News 4 in Salt Lake also ran the story. Why is this happening? The news reports are clear that the internet is a real problem for them. The history of Mormonism is quite problematic, and thank God, now the world can easily discover that through the internet!

Here are several things to take away from this story: first, this should once and for all put to rest this silly faith-promoting mantra LDS give that their church is the fastest growing church. Second, this significant news also ought to mobilize the Christian Church to reap the harvest of these disaffected Mormons! Unfortunately, most of the people who leave Mormonism go into agnosticism or atheism. The tendency with these people is to throw the baby out with the bathwater. So Christians…are you ready to give a positive case for your faith as 1 Peter 3:15 commands you to do? We really have a great opportunity here! Third, this is why I am even more committed to carrying my big sign to advertise my site--MormonInfo.org/JosephLied.com. Fourth, whether you are for or against Romney for president, his run continues to put his faith under the microscope. And this means that MormonInfo.org’s numbers continue to rise!

As for other news, at the beginning of the month I was on a half-hour radio show called “The Next Step” based in Miami, FL. The host, Dave Mitchell, interviewed me on my ministry as well as Mormonism. You can listen to it here.

We had a great Meetup last month with Connie Raddon sharing her testimony, along with her husband and step-daughter. We had over 30 people crammed in our home! Because of that, if we have over 25 people RSVP for a future Meetup where we have to meet inside, we’ll have it at our church offices. You can see the pictures here, and view the video here.

I had a number of debates on Facebook, a few of which got me kicked out of a group there called “Mormons and Evangelicals.” Everyone debates in there, even though the intent of the group is not to do that, but to simply share beliefs… whatever exactly that means! I thought I was sharing my beliefs in a very civil manner.

As for site updates, I wrote a blog called, “A Critique of Ed Decker’s 'The Mormon Plan for America and the Rise of Mitt Romney',” an FAQ on John 14:9 (LDS use this to support the Heavenly Father having flesh and bones), and edited a testimony of a former LDS gal named Melissa Hottenstein.

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. For more information, please see our "Invest" page. 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. At this point, we would like to raise at least $300 each month to cover costs. 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!

Be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:9)!

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. New members for our DivorceCare class starting tomorrow

****MAILBAG****

Looking through your mail bag, it looks like your having a great time with your relatives and friends on facebook. Keep up the good fight!
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Thanks for the great newsletter. We love you guys and pray God's richest blessing on you in 2012. We are soooo glad to have you back in Utah. God is Good; All the Time.
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‎You are a piece of &^%$ rob but your wife is hot!!!
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Hi their brother Sivulka I am just writing you to ask a Question. Can you please answer me this. Its on Mormonism. One of my LDS friend posted me this link in an email telling me that the bible speaks about having a heavenly mother. I don't know how to reply to her. Does the bible really teach about having a heavenly mother? If so why is it not included in the Trinity? Thanks for Answering and Replying to this email. tata for now.

[I replied:] I don't have time to read through all this. The argument is based on what the pagan Canaanites held with Asherah, which was always identified as a false god by Israel. And even if Israel lapsed into worshipping her, it doesn't prove what we're supposed to do, which scripture is quite clear about. Further, scripture is clear that there's only 1 true God (Jn. 17:3), from everlasting to everlasting (Ps. 90:2), who doesn't need a council (Isa. 40:12-26), who doesn't know of any other God (Isa. 43:10, 44:6-8) and created the heavens and earth alone (Isa. 44:24) in contrast to false gods (Ps. 96:5).

Here's what Aaron Shafovaloff just told me: "[See this link on Asherah.] (seriously)
Barney is operating under the assumption that the OT's condemnation of Asherah is due to both a fundamental corruption of the OT text, and of the assumption that [she] was once properly worshiped by earlier Israelites. He's using Canaanite make-up to make his Mormon pig look more like a Israelite duck
somehow
Or rather, he's putting a Canaanite face-lift on Israelite theology to make it look more like Mormonism
Mormonism is a modern-day version of a Canaanite fertility cult, as Russell Moore once said "Mormonism, which is in reality little more than an Americanized version of a Canaanite fertility cult."


[He replied:] Thanks. Thanks for the Info. It really helps especially when I am dealing with some of my Mormon friends. THanks.
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and am being bombarded by Mormons knocking on my door, there are now TV commercials promoting Mormonism, and even on our public transportation there are now billboards making Mormonism look so wholesome with healthy-looking people dressed nicely seemingly without a care in the world.

there is a new Mormon church in my neighborhood and they are canvassing heavily.

two of them knocked on my door today and when I told them I was a Christian they said they were also. when I told them that they believed Jesus was married they denied it, and when I told them they believed Jesus was not the Son of God, they said they did. so, I appreciated your website 7 differences between mormonism and christianity.

what do i say when they deny the differences you stated on your website?

[I replied:] I read to them the sources I have listed there. Hit the links on the LDS side, and they'll go straight to the LDS sources. Now keep in mind that learning the Mormon language game is tricky, since they use our same terms, but mean something completely different than we do.

Many LDS claim that Jesus was not married, but many say they just don't know. Other LDS leaders have clearly taught that Jesus was married, but many LDS today simply say that this was just the opinion of their leaders and they need not think it's the word of God. For more on this, see [here.]

LDS definitely do claim that Jesus is the Son of God. What they aren't telling you is that He wasn't literally always the Son of God as we believe. Why? Because He, as an eternal intelligence (which we all were), had to wait until His Father and Mother got together to conceive Him in heaven. Further, LDS believe we are all literally children of God in heaven. Jesus was simply our elder brother there. LDS believe that Jesus was the only Son of God begotten in the flesh. That means that He's the only one here on earth who had an earthly mother and a Heavenly Father.

Hope this helps, and please write again whenever you have more questions!

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rob, you are an inspiration to me, love your [Facebook] posts. i repost many to my page. keep up the awesome stuff. God bless you

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