It all began in 1994. The Mormon leaders promised to stop having their people do work for these Holocaust victims, but, somehow, the Jewish names kept getting into the main database. The last time the Jewish and LDS representatives met was in 2008. One disappointed Jewish leader, Ernie Michel, refused to participate any longer. Despite losing Michel, the leaders kept meeting and struck a deal in early September that is totally based on a new computer system, which will apparently no longer allow participants to submit names of Holocaust victims or even celebrities. (Even Adolph Hitler has had his work done in a Mormon temple!). We can only keep our fingers crossed because they’ve promised this before.

Michel, who appeared relieved that an agreement was made, said, “We are hopeful now that [Mormons] will keep their word,” he told a Jewish Week journalist, “and that this will lead to a much better relationship.” (The Salt Lake Tribune, September 2, 2010). “Keep their word”? Ouch, it sounds like Mr. Michel has some issues with Salt Lake City.

OK, so now I have some questions for the Mormon leadership. First of all, does this mean that, through no fault of their own, these six million Jewish folks who never heard the Mormon gospel will never, ever get to hear it in the next life either because of the complaints of a few who were living? Death in a concentration camp and no hope for any level of heaven…does this seem fair?

Let’s be honest. If Mormons really do believe that there is another possibility after death to accept the LDS gospel, it seems like the LDS leadership should have just told the Jewish leadership, “Too bad. If these dead spirits don’t want to allow the missionaries from Paradise through their doors, then they can hide behind the couch like every other nonMormon who happens to be living.”  Oh, and what about the celebrities whose work hasn’t been done yet? Apparently, they’re doomed as well. Sorry David Letterman and Jose Canseco.

Another question: If a Holocaust victim already had work done for him/her before 2010, does he/she get to still have the missionaries visit him/her in Spirit Prison? Or do those spirit missionaries have to return to Paradise? What a conundrum!

Still more questions: Could this rule be expunged once the millennium starts? After all, the millennium is when the temple work is supposed to be completed. Will the Mormon leaders not care about hurt feelings during this 1,000-year period of time and just do the work anyway, darn anyone who gets in the way?

Finally, is it possible for me to petition and have my name removed from the genealogical rolls? I want to get in on this deal. After all, what if I never wanted this work done in the first place? Could we expand the sign-in sheet to include those of us who want to be exempt?

I think I wouldn’t make a good God anyway, so I’m probably best left to Outer Darkness. Just ask my wife and kids.

People are always asking me, “With all the evidence that testifies against Mormonism, how can Mormons still believe it?” I recently came across one possible answer to this question in an unlikely place. In Erwin W. Lutzer’s new book, When a Nation Forgets God: 7 Lessons We Must Learn From Nazi Germany, Dr. Lutzer addresses the power and psychology of propaganda in a section he titled, “A Willing Blindness.”

“I’ve observed, as I’m sure you have, the power of what I call ‘a cultural current.’ That is, a dominant idea promoted by the media and willingly adopted by a critical mass of people who want to believe a myth so badly they will close their minds to all contrary evidence. When such a cultural movement gains momentum, people will stare at facts and filter out what they don’t want to believe. Contrary evidence will be ignored or reinterpreted to fit their deepest wishes. And the more people who believe the myth, the more difficult it is for those who wish to counter it. In a spirit of euphoria, all warning signs are brushed aside. Before we know it, we are in a world where facts do not matter.

“Hitler also believed in cultural movements; he believed that many people would never change their minds individually, but would do so if they were in a crowd of several thousand convinced followers. When a seeker steps into a crowd of thousands, wrote Hitler, that seeker is swept away ‘into the mighty effect of suggestive intoxication and enthusiasm, when the visible success and agreement of thousands confirm to him the rightness of the new doctrine.’

“We’ve all heard the adage, ‘The nail that stands out is pounded down.’ Hitler said that doubters are convinced when they find themselves as a minority in the midst of a zealous majority; such an experience causes the doubter to succumb to ‘the magical influence of what we designate as “mass suggestion.”‘ No wonder Hitler said, ‘How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don’t think!’

“…they are swept up into a cultural current where everyone is both expected to fall in line and be rewarded for it. In such a climate, anyone who swims against the stream is demonized by misrepresentations, false evidence and ridicule. With such pressure, even rational and decent people who refuse to be co-opted begin to question their own sanity. Can they alone be right when everyone else is wrong?

“…Warning signs [are] overlooked because of this passion of people to believe…

“Churchill was right: ‘The desire to believe something is much more persuasive than rational argument.’ Like ancient Israel who wanted a king so badly that they refused to listen to God, so people today are prone to want what they want and don’t care about the consequences.”

A “willing blindness” wouldn’t be the only reason Mormons continue to believe the LDS Church is true in spite of the facts, but it might be one reason.

“…they refused to love the truth and so be saved…”
2 Thessalonians 2:10

Read article at MRM.org »

Perhaps you can list some concerns you may have as well.

So we stopped by and walked inside. One elderly missionary insisted that we see a 15-minute video titled “God´s Plan for His Family” that promises the viewer “a greater understanding of God’s plan for each of us in this uplifting “Must See” Exhibit” (emphasis theirs). This exhibit was cleverly done, as visitors spend a few minutes in each of the five different exhibits that were cleverly designed to look like different parts of a home, with a video screen in the background in each station.  The story of a baby being born, kids growing up, and the tender care of grandparents and their death as well as their resurrection is told. Kleenex boxes were conveniently located throughout to help those whose heart strings were being pulled. Probably the biggest emotional climax was when the grandfather—whose familiar signal to those he loved was an outstretched hand as if to say “hello”—died. Soon after, his wife joined him in the celestial glory and they’re holding hands once more.

After the video, my family and I were taken into another room and we were asked what we thought of the presentation. This is the dialogue that took place between a sister missionary and me:

Eric: “When you die, do you believe that you will be with your family forever?”

Sister: “Oh yes.”

E: “Will you be in heaven as a daughter? Or a married woman and mother? Or a grandmother?”

S: “What do you mean?”

E: “What I mean is, the video we just watched makes it appear we will be with our nuclear family. The impression given is that you as a woman will be the wife, and yet your kids and their grandparents will be there too. But if these grandparents are faithful to the gospel, won’t they be in their own realm? And won’t you and your husband be in another realm? And each of your kids would be in their own realm, each of them with their eventual spouses. If so, this is much different than what was presented here.”

At this point, the sister (whose mission, she said, was ending the following week after 18 months) became very disoriented. She definitely had no answers. Because she must not have ever thought through these implications, she ended up excusing herself and then returned a few minutes later with one of the visitor center’s leaders. When the elderly gentleman came in, I explained my question. His response? Faithful Mormons will be in the Celestial Kingdom as mature adults. But, I said, that didn’t answer my question. Would he be there as a father? A son? A grandfather? The whole idea with its many possibilities (when you consider genealogical work) just boggles the mind. And, I asked, isn’t it true Mormonism teaches that God the Father was once like us and today is the father of all creation? Isn’t that His main job, as a “father,” and not as a “son” or “grandfather”? Do we have any evidence that God the Father’s grandfather lives in the same realm as Elohim? I’ve never heard this issue addressed in General Conference.

When the phrase “Families are Forever” is used, just what does that mean? According to the elder, it means that the family is “linked” together. They are not necessarily living in the same “house” but have the chance to be “together” through their connections. Again, I pointed out how different this was from what the video was portraying. As far as the possibility that certain members of the family were not faithful, he explained the Mormon idea that they would be required to exist in a lower realm (the terrestrial). Faithful Mormons in the celestial could go down to visit them, but these folks could never go up to visit the faithful Mormons. In other words, everyone in the family must be faithful for this “forever family” scenario to work. I guess we can forget about all the black sheep of our families. Or those family members who just don’t have what it takes.

The presentation at the St. George temple was very slick and emotion-driven. It would be easy for someone who was naively considering the LDS Church to join based on this manipulative piece alone. The way it was portrayed, strictly from a human level, seemed wonderful. Yet the video never mentioned anything about God, Jesus, or salvation by grace through faith. Doctrines were left alone. This presentation was all about being together with loved ones, whom we know end up leaving us at inopportune times through heart attacks and strokes. How desperately we want to see them again! How much we would give to be with them again! But with no basis in biblical truth or any type of logic, such a presentation is nothing more than a pie-in-the-sky promise, as empty as the words it took to deliver the message. How many fall for this promising message but with no basis in hope? Well, in the three minutes it took you to read this article, three more converts have been baptized into the church. Obviously the Mormons are good at growing their church using these methods and I’m afraid it’s just not going to go away anytime soon.

In one of the videos the Mormons were quite forthright: they wanted the LDS Church to buy the street so they could control the situation.

Most of the reporters seem bent on generalizing the evangelists as “protesters”, which is misleading since most of the evangelicals that show up are merely doing one-on-one and small group conversational evangelism, and since the tone, the goal, the attitude, and the motivation really is “evangelism” and “proselytizing.” You can say the words, they’re not bad. Come on, try it sometime . Painting us with the generalization “protesters” is an ugly way of obscuring, not clarifying, what is generally really happening.

One reporter was absolutely correct in describing the street as having a “festival-like atmosphere” during the Pageant.

One reporter said the sale is being considered… at a measly $100,000!

To news outlets yet to report the story, this is what most Manti Pageant evangelism looks like. Also, feel free to use photos from my Flickr sets, although keep in mind that I’m one of the few who street preaches:

• 2010
• 2009
• 2008
• 2007
• 2006

Also, check out the evangelical training talks given in 2008, 2009, and 2010. The wives demonstration was done once in 2008.

As one article alluded to, the last few years have been especially strategic for reducing tension. The use of signs has diminished and public preaching on the Manti street has been reduced and toned down. And that’s been OK for us, because we’ve had enough Christians on the street to be confident that the word of truth is being spread.

Grace and peace,

Aaron

Update. Here are two comments over at another blog that I found worth sharing:

“Overall, I don’t like the mall-and-gated-subdivision trend, where people dismiss (or have already forgotten) the value of having a lot of community space that is truly public.” (chanson)

“If you leave such questions to the locals then you may end up with the tyranny of the majority. James Madison pointed out in Federalist Paper 10 that the purpose of the federal government is to dilute the influence of local majorities. Mormons are so dominant in places like Manti that it is easy for them to roll all over minorities. Majoritarianism that is not tempered by the rule of law, i.e. respect for minority rights, is not democracy but ochlocracy, also known as the rule of the mob. If the non-Mormon minority is uncomfortable with the loss of public space then the LDS Church would do well to respect the needs of the minority. The city council has an obligation to preserve public space for everyone.” (Hellmut)

I am a Mormon. I found your video regarding stereotyping of Mormons interesting. It is true that we don`t all agree. We are a very intellectual body. Our Sunday services are more like intellectual discussions or seminars than a long sermon. I am the type of Mormon who is generally true-blue; but am at times bored with my church and go through what I call ‘lostspells’, where I lose interest in church, but I continue to be active. During those times I tend to get fulfillment from other Christian sources and I really do enjoy listening to evangelical sermons and mainline protestant sermons; but shedding my Mormon beliefs, practices, and heritage would be impossible to do. What are evangelical community churches doing to embrace and accommodate people like me who are believers, but enjoy the atmosphere that evangelical community churches bring offer?

My response:

Because the evangelical community is at its core centered around shared beliefs in and about Jesus Christ, you won’t find any *final* sense of belonging with evangelical Christianity if you keep traditional Mormon beliefs (particularly the Mormon beliefs that contradict Christianity: like that God was once a mere mortal man who had to become a God, or that we can become Gods someday worshiped by billions of our own spirit children).

However, I have known some Mormons who have already shed much of their traditional Mormon beliefs. They believe that God was always fully God, and they renounce the idea that we can become Gods worshiped by our own spirit children, etc. But they hang onto a few Mormon beliefs, like that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. This isn’t as problematic, because the Book of Mormon doesn’t itself have the controversial doctrines that make modern Mormonism so heretical. The Book of Mormon largely reflects 19th century Protestantism. Indeed, the Book of Mormon teaches a view of God that most Mormons have rejected (see Moroni 8:18).

I call Mormons with one foot in and one foot out “evanjellyfish Mormons.” I’ll be honest, I’m not really sure how churches are supposed to accommodate them. All I know is that we should get to know them and be patient with them. And love them! If you are one, and feel like somewhat of an outsider, be patient with them too: your condition makes it hard for us Christians to know where you are at spiritually. Just as you might be confused about your own spiritual identity, others might be too, and that can make it hard for people to confidently link arms with you as though you are a true fellow worshiper in the same Jesus Christ of the Bible.

While it is reasonable and even good for someone like yourself to hang onto some Mormon cultural practices and heritage, it is not good to hang onto Mormon beliefs that go against the Bible. It’s not good for your long-term spiritual health nor does it honor God. But if you’re at a place in your life where things seem grey… a time of transition where you are acting in accordance with your conscience—just know that God loves you and he is patient with you! That I love you to, and I wish you the best. Please keep attending evangelical churches when you can and please consider joining a “small group” or bible study group where you can be in a context where it is easier for individual believers at the church to be in relationship with you. Believers are normally eager to “meet you where you are at.” But again, it is an awkward kind of situation, so please be patient with yourself and with others.

Grace and peace in Jesus,

Aaron

A similar misunderstanding is common when the biblical doctrine of hell is presented. To illustrate, consider Jews and Mormons blogger Mark Paredes’ August 3rd (2010) post titled, “I’m Going to Hell? Who Cares?” He begins by quoting a reader’s comment from a previous post: “Mormons and Jews have something in common if they don’t repent and surrender their lives to Jesus Christ.” Mr. Paredes writes,

“As the above quote makes clear, the subset of Evangelicals who believe that Jesus-denying Jews are going to hell after they die almost always believe the same about Mormons (they claim that we worship a “different” Jesus). Condemning people to hell is not in the Mormon lexicon; we teach moral principles, but the consequences of sin and transgression are God’s to impose, not ours. [We also don’t believe in a traditional concept of hell, but I digress]. When these people call down hellfire upon the heads of Jews, Mormons, and most of the world’s people unless they accept Evangelicalism’s Jesus, Mormons dismiss their condemnation as unauthorized, presumptuous, and doctrinally flawed. We certainly don’t believe that Jews and other non-Christians are going to hell, and we don’t like to be lumped with those Christians who do.” (Brackets in the original.)

Again, the message that is being objected to here–that those who worship a false god, or who try to merit heaven by their own works, or who dismiss Jesus’ sacrificial atonement as God’s only provision for cleansing from sin, are “condemned”–this message is God’s Word to a fallen world (Romans 6:23, John 14:6, Revelation 20:15). Christians are not condemning Mormons or Jews or anyone else; they are merely delivering the message they find in the pages of Scripture, and that according to the command of God (Matthew 28:19-20). Christians agree with Mr. Paredes on this point: “the consequences of sin and transgression are God’s to impose.”

To say that Christians “call down hellfire upon the heads of Jews, Mormons, and most of the world’s people” merely by sharing the biblical Gospel message is wholly unwarranted. I can’t speak for all the Christians Mr. Paredes has come in contact with, but generally speaking, Christians share the Gospel with unbelievers because they don’t want them to go to hell.

Which brings me to the title of Mr. Paredes’ post. “I’m Going to Hell? Who Cares?” I do, Mr. Paredes. And in the name of Jesus Christ I tell you that God says all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us; for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him!

Are you offended, Mr. Paredes? This is God’s gracious and merciful word to you–indeed, to all of us. Are you offended, Mormon reader? Are you offended, unbeliever? It might offend you, for the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. If it offends you, then God offends you. If God offends you, I plead with you to repent and believe in the gospel.

——

Scriptures quoted in the last two paragraphs above: Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:23, 9:16, 10:9, 10:11-12; Hebrews 4:12; Mark 1:15

For more information on heaven and hell, click here.

You can download the PDF of the ACLU of Utah Letter to the Manti City Council here. It is particularly frustrating that the issue so far has received little public attention. I don’t see one online news article about it.

The following transcription is mine:

BY FACSIMILE (435.835.2202)
City Council (c/o the City Library)
City of Manti
50 South Main, Suite 1
Manti, Utah

Re: Proposed Sale of Public Property to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (“LDS Church”)

Dear City Council:

The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah Foundation, Inc. (“ACLU of Utah”) has been advised that the City of Manti is considering vacating and selling to the LDS Church a portion of public property described as “100 East Street from the north side of the 400 North Street, north to the intersection of 100 East Street and U.S. Highway 89 (approximately 500 North).” We are further advised that this property has historically be designated a public thoroughfare and public forum, in which all people have had the opportunity and right to share their views and opinions on issues of public concern.

Although very little information is available on-line relating to the proposed sale, we have grave concerns about the effect any such sale would have on the First Amendment rights of citizens of the State of Utah and the City of Manti. Those concerns are echoed and amplified by the five (5) complains we have received in just the last few hours objecting both to the sale and to the non-public manner in which prior discussions about the proposed sale have apparently been conducted.

According to an agenda that was posted within the last two (2) days on the City’s website, the Council intends to discuss and potentially decide issues relating to the proposed sale at tonight’s meeting. We strongly urge you to table discussion and decisions regarding the proposed sale until these significant First Amendment issues have been thoroughly considered.

As you may be aware, the ACLU of Utah has litigated these issues in the past. We are happy to meet with you at any time to discuss the important First Amendment rights at stake, as well as any other concerns that you or your constituents may have related to the proposed sale.

Update: See Staci’s blog post

Update #2: News coverage of Manti street issue begins

“It would be an oversight to discuss effective ways to increase temple activity and not offer this word of warning: with every effort to build temples or to increase temple attendance, forces of evil will inevitably arise to destroy these efforts…

“The ‘bells of hell’ will ring to rally evil against any effort to establish a holy temple on the earth or to carry out the sacred ordinances performed therein.” (61)

When I read these words I immediately thought of a passage from the Old Testament. In 1 Samuel 5 the Philistines had captured the ark of God. They brought it into the “house of Dagon,” their god, and set the ark next to their idol.

“And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him… The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory.” (1 Sam 5:3-4, 6)

The Philistines might have understood this as “the bells of hell” ringing to rally evil against their god Dagon. In fact, though they recognized that the God of Israel was responsible for the afflictions that had come upon them and Dagon, they did not turn away from their false god but merely sent the LORD God of Israel away from their land (1 Sam 6:7-8). They did not heed the warning God so graciously gave them. The Philistines continued to make war against Israel and her God, and the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel the prophet (1 Sam 7:13).

While Mormons tend to think opposition to Mormonism and LDS temples is the work of Satan, couldn’t it be something quite different? Couldn’t it be the gracious hand of the LORD outstretched toward the Mormon people, calling them to put away their false gods, and to turn to Him and be saved (Isaiah 45:22)?

Would that the Mormon people would respond to the LORD as the Israelites did when Samuel called them to repentance:

“And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, ‘If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.’ So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the Lord only.” (1 Sam 7:3-4)

It’s common around here to hear people respond to the content of these ads with a shrug and a “So what?” Yet the blitz effectively brings non-Mormons into a sort of 21st century “contact” with normal Mormons multiple times a day. Where Mormonism may have seemed remote and a little mysterious before, the ads will allow it to now be perceived as commonplace.

The LDS website for non-Mormons, Mormon.org, is also putting great emphasis on Mormons as regular people. Four of the five rotating linked images on the home page highlight individual Mormons and their stories while the one remaining linked image refers to an aspect of LDS belief.

While it has long been the aim of the LDS Church to be recognized as a Christian church, there seems to be an increased effort to encourage people to accept Mormonism as “normal” or non-unique. A recent article that appeared in The Daily Times (Maryland; July 31, 2010) was titled, “Mormonism has similarities to other Christian churches.” While the two bishops interviewed for the article talked a bit about LDS history (i.e., the First Vision: “What’s unique about the church of the Latter-day Saints is its origin with Jesus Christ himself”), the bulk of the article is about what Mormons do (e.g., go to church, shun alcohol, pray, take communion, etc). Furthermore, in telling the First Vision story, Bishop Long explained that Joseph Smith was told by God not to join any of the existing churches. However, it was not because they were “all wrong; …all their creeds were an abomination…[and] those professors were all corrupt” (Joseph Smith History 1:19). If Mr. Long had shared that bit of LDS scripture he could not have kept up the pretense that “there are more similarities between our church and other Christian churches than differences” (as Bishop Whitaker told the journalist). Instead, Mr. Long explained that Smith was not to join any church because he was chosen to “help restore the gift of the apostles.”

Another recent article that fits nicely with the campaign to present Mormonism as people and not as a belief system appeared in Mormon Times on August 1st, 2010.  Jerry Johnston’s article, “Actions are great equalizer in religion,” suggests,

“…that’s the problem with religious discussions today. We focus on each other’s ideas rather than each other’s ideals. We want to know what people think, not how they live.”

Mr. Johnston believes that, since faith resides in people’s hearts, not their heads, we should avoid focusing on what people “hold to be true” and instead look at how they live. While he affirms that what a person believes is important, he insists,

“Being a believer isn’t nearly as important as being a doer…

“The next time someone says, ‘Let’s talk religion. What do you believe?’ turn it around and say, ‘Let’s talk religion. How do you try [to] live your life?’

I do believe that faith will be borne out in one’s actions. This, after all, is what the Bible says (James 2:14-19). But we cannot know the nature of a person’s faith by looking at his actions. For example, a beautiful young woman believes (has faith) that if she treats a wealthy old man in a loving way he will remember her in his will. So she showers him with love — or what looks like love to those who are watching. Though her actions appear admirable, they are not; nor is her faith. Because we cannot know a person’s heart, we cannot know what they really believe by looking only at what they do.

The LDS Church is campaigning in the U.S. to be accepted as normal; that is, as mainstream America, mainstream Christian. There is nothing different about Mormonism — just look at how ordinary the Mormon people are. But Mormonism was founded on the very idea that it is different. It claims to be the only true church, after all. To suggest that one can know all they need to know about Mormonism by looking at the apparent normalcy of its members seems almost to employ a bit of slight of hand.

The Bible tells us that even Satan himself can appear as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:13-15); that people can and will do “many mighty works” in the name of Christ yet not be accepted by Him (Matthew 7:21-23). Of course Jesus cares about what we do, yet He taught, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (John 6:29).

Therefore, I urge you, friends, when you see the new Mormon ads, shrug and say to your LDS friends, “So what? Tell me what your church teaches. Tell me what you believe.”