(Another beautiful sunrise on my morning walk)
Can anyone give me something better than the Church of Jesus Christ? I’ve been told I’m part of a cult, or that Joseph Smith was lazy and indolent or that I don’t worship the correct Jesus…but never had anyone offered me a better understanding of God or a logical explanation of various key passages found within the same Bible that sat upon their nightstands. I could walk into 4 different churches on one intersection and not one of them even would attempt to show me that they are the Church that Christ established when he was on the earth. Isn’t that the church you would want to be part of?What does that Church even look like and is there anyone that can offer any similarities to that ancient Christian church found in the New Testament?
Christ’s church was a living church, meaning it was lead by Christ himself through revelation. When a prophet or apostle got out of line, Christ put him back on track! [Acts 10:10-16]
The church was built upon apostles and prophets [Ephesians 2:19-20] but I’ve never had anyone tell me of another church with apostles and prophets. The Bible says we’d have apostles and prophets “until we all came to a unity of faith” [Ephesians 4:11-14]. Does it look like we’re united?
When Judas was gone, the apostles chose someone to take his spot as an apostle. Did someone authorize the discontinuance of that practice? [Acts 1:22-25]
The Father and The Son are separate and distinct individuals. Christ exclaims that “My Father is greater than I” [John 14:28] on one occasion, and on another He looks to heaven and says “Father…I thank thee that thou hast heard me.” [John 11:41] In his last moments on the cross He asks His Father why He has forsaken Him. Why on earth in this hour of extreme pain and fatigue would He ask himself why He has forsaken Himself? He also asks His Father to “forgive them for they know not what they do” and finally relents, “into Thy hands I commend my Spirit”. To think that Christ is speaking to himself or some distant manifestation of himself just doesn’t do justice to the character of Christ. The water, gas, and ice or 3 in 1 egg example used to define the trinitarian concept of God doesn’t hold up and is nowhere to be found in the New Testament.
Never in the Bible does it mention children being baptized, and never is baptism performed without an accompanying large body of water.
What church on earth has an answer for children that have died in infancy or those that have never heard the name of Christ? If belief in Christ and baptism by immersion is a requirement for salvation, then there ought to be a provision made by a just and loving God. Peter taught that the gospel was preached to them that are dead [1 Peter 4:6] and it follows that Christ’s church would perform baptisms for the dead or for those that didn’t have the opportunity to be baptized. [1 Corinthians 15:29]
What about degrees of glory in heaven or multiple kingdoms? Paul said he visited or saw in vision a “third heaven” [2 Corinthians 12:2-4] Does that mean there is a first and second? What church today talks about these things?
What about eternal marriage? Why would you want to be with your sweetheart “until death do you part” when [1 Corinthians 11:11] Paul says that the man and the woman are together “in the Lord”.
What church echo’s Paul’s teachings about the “body being a temple” [1 Corinthians 3:16-17] more so than the Church of Jesus Christ and its Word of Wisdom? Studies have confirmed that Mormon’s are among the healthiest people in the world because of this code of living.
The list is endless…but If I go past 2000 words here, no one will read it. Friends have asked me to leave the Church I have described above. My reply is similar to Peter’s. “To whom will I go” [John 6:68] Honestly…where can I go that I can learn about all of these things found within the Bible that no one else is talking about? But you say…the temple is weird, and Joseph Smith was bad, and some strange practices have taken place in the past and in the present. That is what they said of Peter and the apostles when they walked the earth. Can you imagine what the Lord taught the 12 apostles during his “40 day ministry” when he taught them “things pertaining to the Kingdom of God”? [Acts 1] Does anyone know what those things were that he taught…and why it took 40 days to discuss?
My question is simple and honest; Can anyone give me something better than the Mormon Church…and if so what is it and where is it? How does it stack up against the structure of the original Christian church that Christ established?
-Greg Trimble
P.S. Greg wrote this article years before President Nelson announced the proper name to be used.
