Joseph Smith boasted that he did more than Jesus to keep a church together. What an incredibly godly and humble man!
"I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him, but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet. https://carm.org/mormonism/joseph-smith-boasted-that-he-did-more-than-jesus-to-keep-a-church-together/
Joseph Smith claimed EVERY sect of Christianity in his day was an abomination and all the people therein were corrupt as well. Mormons used to make a distinction between themselves and Christians. "We're Mormons, not Christians", they would say enthusiastically. But now, with the marketing update to seem like their org is a viable option for an evangelical, they have even dropped the Mormon terminology.
You read the Bible but your "scriptures" to it. You claim many plain and precious parts have been removed from it.
Your Christ is the brother of Lucifer, not the incarnate second person of the Triune Godhead who created ALL things out of nothing. Sorry friend, we do not believe in the same Redeemer. Martin Luther is on my side, not yours. He would shudder to hear the abominable doctrine of Smith and Young and your other "prophets" i.e ""As man now is, God once was; as God now is, man may become." President Spencer W. Kimball.
Luther understood that man, angels, and God are not the same kind of being in different stages of progression. He understood the Creator-creature distinction, which is central to the Bible you claim to believe.
"I was answered that I must join none of them [the religious sects of the day], for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: “they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”
Joseph Smith
No, I'm a Christian. I don't believe that we are saved by grace through faith after all we can do. I believe I am forgiven of my sins only because of Jesus' perfect life and substitutionary sacrifice on my behalf. Mormonism has a false Christ and a False Gospel. I'm not looking forward to becoming a god of my own planet someday. https://youtu.be/IQNObk2qAwo https://youtu.be/Pgw-C_DTVo8
Isaiah 43:10
“You are My witnesses,” declares Yahweh,
“And My servant whom I have chosen,
So that you may know and believe Me
And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no god formed,
And there will be none after Me.
Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (June 12th)
Dwelling Safely Apart
Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew — Deuteronomy 33:28
The more we dwell alone, the more safe shall we be. God would have His people separate from sinners. His call to them is, "Come ye out from among them." A Christian world is such a monstrosity as the Scriptures never contemplate. A worldly Christian is spiritually diseased. Those who compromise with Christ's enemies may be reckoned with them.
Our safety lies, not in making terms with the enemy but in dwelling alone with our best Friend. If we do this, we shall dwell in safety, despite the sarcasms, the slanders, and the sneers of the world. We shall be safe from the baleful influence of its unbelief, its pride, its vanity, its filthiness.
God also will make us dwell in safety alone in that day when sin shall be visited on the nations by wars and famines.
The Lord brought Abram from Ur of the Chaldees, but he stopped half-way. He had no blessing till, having set out to go to the land of Canaan, to the land of Canaan he came. He was safe alone even in the midst of foes. Lot was not safe in Sodom though in a circle of friends. Our safety is in dwelling apart with God.
Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (June 11th)
No Cause to Blush
Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed — Isaiah 54:4
We shall not be ashamed of our faith. Carping critics may assail the Scriptures upon which we ground our belief, but every year the Lord will make it more and more clear that in His Book there is no error, no excess, and no omission. It is no discredit to be a simple believer; the faith which looks alone to Jesus is a crown of honor on any man's head, and better than a star on his breast.
We shall not be ashamed of our hope. It shall be even as the Lord has said. We shall be fed, led, blest and rested. Our Lord will come, and then the days of our mourning shall be ended. How we shall glory in the Lord who first gave us lively hope, and then gave us that which we hoped for!
We shall not be ashamed of our love. Jesus is to us the altogether lovely, and never, never, shall we have to blush because we have yielded our hearts to Him. The sight of our glorious Well-beloved will justify the most enthusiastic attachment to Him. None will blame the martyrs for dying for Him. When the enemies of Christ are clothed with everlasting contempt, the lovers of Jesus shall find themselves honored by all holy beings, because they chose the reproach of Christ rather than the treasures of Egypt.
Whatever you love more than God is your idol.
Dwight L. Moody
"Sheep are very feeble creatures, and wolves are terrible enemies; yet at this hour sheep are more numerous than wolves, and the cause of the sheep is always winning, while the cause of the wolves is always declining. One day flocks of sheep will cover the plains, and not a wolf will be left." - Charles Spurgeon
Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (June 10th)
A Shepherd Secures Them
They shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid — Zephaniah 3:13
Yesterday we thought of the afflicted and poor people whom the Lord left to be a living seed in a dead world. The prophet says of such that they shall not work iniquity nor speak lies. So that while they had neither rank nor riches to guard them, they were also quite unable to use those weapons in which the wicked place so much reliance: they could neither defend themselves by sin nor by subtlety.
What then? Would they be destroyed? By no means! They should both feed and rest, and be not merely free from danger, but even quiet from fear of evil. Sheep are very feeble creatures, and wolves are terrible enemies; yet at this hour sheep are more numerous than wolves, and the cause of the sheep is always winning, while the cause of the wolves is always declining. One day flocks of sheep will cover the plains, and not a wolf will be left. The fact is that sheep have a shepherd, and this gives them provender, protection, and peace. "None" - which means not one, whether in human or diabolical form - "shall make them afraid." Who shall terrify the Lord's flock when He is near? We lie down in green pastures, for Jesus Himself is food and rest to our souls.
Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (June 9th)
A Trustworthy Name
I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord — Zephaniah 3:12
When true religion is ready to die out among the wealthy it finds a home among the poor of this world, rich in faith. The Lord has even now his faithful remnant. Am I one of them?
Perhaps it is because men are afflicted and poor that they learn to trust in the name of the Lord. He that hath no money must try what he can do on trust. He whose own name is good for nothing in his own esteem, acts wisely to rest in another name, even that best of names, the name of Jehovah. God will always have a trusting people, and these will be an afflicted and poor people. Little as the world thinks of them, their being left in the midst of a nation is the channel of untold blessings to it. Here we have the conserving salt which keeps in check the corruption which is in the world through lust.
Again the question comes home to each one of us, Am I one of them? Am I afflicted by the sin within me and around me? Am I poor in spirit, poor spiritually in my own judgment? Do I trust in the Lord? That is the main business. Jesus reveals the name, the character, the person of God; am I trusting in Him? If so, I am left in this world for a purpose. Lord, help me to fulfill it.
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primal.net/johntrain
johntrain@primal.net
Just found out my Aunt died 6 months ago. Weird day.
Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (June 8th)
Wisdom for the Asking
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. — James 1:5
"If any of you lack wisdom." There is no "if" in the matter, for I am sure I lack it. What do I know? How can I guide my own way? How can I direct others? Lord, I am a mass of folly, and wisdom I have none.
Thou sayest, "Let him ask of God." Lord, I now ask. Here at thy footstool I ask to be furnished with heavenly wisdom for this day's perplexities, ay, and for this day's simplicities; for I know I may do very stupid things, even in plain matters, unless thou dost keep me out of mischief.
I thank thee that all I have to do is to ask. What grace is this on thy part, that I have only to pray in faith, and thou wilt give me wisdom! Thou dost here promise me a liberal education, and that, too, without an angry tutor, or a scolding usher. This, too, thou wilt bestow without a fee - bestow it on a fool who lacks wisdom. O Lord, I thank thee for that positive and expressive word, "It shall be given him." I believe it. Thou wilt this day make thy babe to know the hidden wisdom which the carnally prudent never learn. Thou wilt guide me with thy counsel, and afterwards receive me to glory.
"A totalitarian is not satisfied with you doing what he says. A totalitarian wants to control your brain."
C.R. Wiley
If you want to fast 20+ hours and not be hungry, just eat fatty red meat. That's what I do, and I can easily do 23+ or longer with minimal discomfort.
reddit.com/r/decaf is helpful for motivation. Don't go cold turkey. Maybe do a slow two or three month taper. I decided to wean off a caffeine pill and coffee addiction simultaneously. Products like Wean Caffeine are an enormous help to get your daily dosage right.
For sure. Caffeine wrecks sleep, even the small amount left in decaf.
Do a slow taper off of it. Took me a whole month to get to zero and that was still rough. Going without it for a few days will make you feel like crap but if you soldier through you will eventually get better.