MAY 2022 THE CROSS

Newsletter

The Cross

Newsletter

Concerned Christians

May 2022

THE BASICS OF MORMONISM AT YOUR LOCATION

A FOUR HOUR CLASS FOR YOUR

CHRISTIAN GROUP

Concerned Christians of Arizona is offering four one-hour classes at your location. We will come to you in person. We are flexible for scheduling.

We will do four one-hour classes over four consecutive weeks or four one-hour classes over a three-day weekend. This offer includes all 50 United States and Provinces in Canada contingent on border requirements. We will also consider Mexico travel.

Our schedule is currently open for 2022.

This class has been presented two times this year in person in Show Low, Arizona, and in Benson, Arizona. Attendance was approximately 25 and 35 respectively.

Informative books and materials will be supplied for each class.

Speakers will be Gary Keating, Sandra (Sandie) Keating, and a guest former-Mormon.

If your Christian group is interested, call for details 1.480.833.2537 (8:00-3:00 Arizona time weekdays or 1.480.209.8279 weekends.). Or email; [email protected]. Costs will be determined according to the distance of travel outside of Arizona.

A PROPHET – ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF GOD

In the April edition of this Newsletter, I completed the major historic events of Joseph Smith’s life ending with his death in the Carthage, Illinois, jail. The concluding paragraphs stated:

______________________________________________________________________________This completes the brief history of Joseph Smith from his birth to his death. He claimed to be the First Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1970-1972 the Tenth President and Prophet, Joseph Fielding Smith, (not to be confused with the Sixth President and Prophet, Joseph F. Smith) made the following challenging statement:

Mormonism, as it is called, must stand or fall on the story of Joseph Smith. He was either a prophet of God, divinely called, properly appointed and commissioned, or he was one of the biggest frauds this world has ever seen. There is no middle ground. If Joseph Smith was a deceiver, who willfully attempted to mislead the people, then he should be exposed; his claims should be refuted, and his doctrines shown to be false, for the doctrines of an imposter cannot be made to harmonize in all particulars with divine truth. If his claims and declarations were built upon fraud and deceit, there would be many errors and contradictions, which would be easy to detect. (Doctrines of Salvation, Joseph Fielding Smith, Vol. 1, p. 188).

This is a personal challenge for anyone thinking about believing the tenants of the LDS Corporation, commonly known as Mormonism. The Tenth Prophet states you must examine the First Prophet’s life and veracity. If you are thinking about becoming a ‘Mormon’, you need to do the homework. It is a personal decision.

According to the Tenth President and Prophet, Mormonism stands or falls on the veracity of the First President and Prophet.

The Bible speaks to the authenticity of anyone selected to speak on God’s behalf.

If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying. ‘Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy 19:1-3)

But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die. (Deuteronomy 18:20)

When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him. (Deuteronomy 18:22)

Jesus also predicted false prophets.

Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. (Matthew 7:15)

Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. (Matthew 7:15)

The Apostle Peter also commented about false prophets.

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.

(2 Peter 2:1)

And finally, John, the Apostle of Love, comments regarding false prophets.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

CONCLUSION

#1. If someone calling themselves a prophet has one prophecy NOT come true, according to the Bible, he is NOT a prophet of God. In our library inventory we stock one book called THE FALSE PROPHECIES OF JOSEPH SMITH. This book enumerates over 50 false prophecies attributed to Joseph Smith Jr. from 1823 until just prior to his death, June 27, 1844. This book is available to you if you would like to have it.

#2. The Tenth Prophet and President Joseph Fielding Smith firmly states that Mormonism “stands or falls” on the veracity of Joseph Smith Jr. According to him Joseph Smith Jr. is either ‘a prophet of God’ or a ‘fraud’. Read the evidence and make your choice.

On Sunday May 26, 1844, Joseph Smith Jr. proclaimed of himself in a public sermon, “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.” (History of the Church, Vol.6 by the LDS Church, pg. 408-409)

One month and one day later he died at Carthage, Illinois, jail riot. Was this fulfillment of Deuteronomy 18:20 quoted above? Or is this a parallel to King Herod’s death in Acts chapter 12? Was Joseph Fielding Smith having his own doubts about the LDS Corporation?

Joseph Fielding Smith said, “. . . if Joseph Smith was a deceiver, who willfully attempted to mislead the people, then he should be exposed; his claims should be refuted, and his doctrines shown to be false, for the doctrines of an imposter cannot be made to harmonize in all particulars with divine truth.”

Mormonism is built on Joseph Smith Jr. The foundation is on shifting sand. Check it out yourself before you are convinced through feelings rather than facts.

Gary Keating, General Manager

I have been told when the FBI trains it’s staff to recognize counterfeit U.S. Bills they are never once shown a true counterfeit. Instead they are only shown “the real thing”. When they do see a counterfeit it could not be more obvious to their trained eye. We Christians have a lesson to glean from this. STAY in the word daily. It is to be our ‘daily bread’. Be prepared and move forward with confidence.

God Bless,

Paulette

Dear Folks,

Thank you for your volunteers as you aide Mormons as they search for knowledge, truth & being free of all of the control put on them by LDS.

D.A.F., MN

Dear Friends at CC,Thank you for sending your monthly e-newsletter with all the informative and helpful articles about reaching our Mormon friends and family.

C.B.

Dear CC,

…and thank you for the box of materials to help me learn more about the Mormon religion and understanding more scripture from the Bible for myself. The more I read the more I need to know!! I thought I knew the Mormon beliefs but have found out how our definitions of things are not the same at all!!! Especially JESUS

C.C.

We at Concerned Christians meet every TUESDAY evening for an hour of prayer at 6:30 p.m. If you are not local, please set that time aside to  voice your concerns from your prayer space. If you are local and would like to attend, we ask you to call 480-833-2537 for directions. We truly look forward to meeting and praying with you in the War Room. We ask that you add  Concerned Christians to your prayer list along with any other Mormon witnessing group you are familiar. The importance of intercessory prayer cannot be stressed enough. We have seen God grant many blessings to us over the years. If you have a ministry related request please send us a short email.     [email protected]  “We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers.”     I Thessalonians 1:2

ff you are changing your email address in the future, please do not forget to make those changes in the preferences link at the bottom of the page. Please do not mail anything to our old street address. If you ever have questions please call Concerned Christians at 480-833-2537 or email at     [email protected]

	If you are led to make a donation here is the linkhttps://concernedchristians.com/donateIf you prefer to pen a check please mail it to:PO BOX 18, Mesa, AZ 85211Concerned Christians is a Non-Profit 501 (C) (3) organization and donations are tax deductible. We thank you for your support.

This ministry is a labor of love from the writing of the articles to the compiling of the newsletter to the actual mailing. We all strive for perfection, but alas we will undoubtedly have some short failings. Please, do not hesitate to point things out or ask questions. This assures us our efforts are being seen. We are always seeking prayer warriors. We also would like conversion stories to publish. These give so much hope to others. Read a good book, let us know.

In Christian love,

Paulette