Truths about Prophetic Giftings
God promised to pour out the Holy Spirit on all flesh in the end time. In the era we are in, we closer and closer to that day and we see a lot of demonstrations of power and prophetic signs happening already. But the church of Christ is still very immature, especially in the area of the prophetics. Many believers are still holding major misconceptions about the Holy Spirit anointing. But as the Lord moves in with greater power and anointing, we must prepare ourselves with biblical principles and doctrine in order for us to cooperate with God in this area.
Some believe that since God is so holy and wise, He would never anoint a person who has problem in his personal life or character or doctrine. Some even go into the extreme and fall in the sin of worshipping man instead of God. In fact, God uses weak and broken people all the time to show His glory, like Samson of the book of the judges. He is a mighty warrior who is filled with the Holy Spirit with serious problem spiritually and in personal behavior and character.
When people falsely believe that only perfect man are used by God with demonstration of power and authority, they either think too high of the man being used or totally reject all the prophetic ministers. The moment they see a flaw in the minister's character or doctrine, they immediately conclude that the power did not come from God because God would never use a person like that. This is obviously not biblical because we see a lot of examples in the Bible when God uses weak men who are far from perfect. In the New Testament, we see the most anointed church of that time, the Corinthians, was also the most carnal church of that time according to Apostle Paul.
Spiritual gifts are given by the Holy Spirit freely according to His own will. No one can earn spiritual gifts with work or godliness. The gifts or any other demonstration of power on a person are not given as a badge or a sign that God approves the man's spiritual maturity. No one can earn the gifts of the Holy Spirit by trying to consecrate himself. Everything is given by grace as free gift, just like salvation.
This does not mean that we could do whatever we want because no good work would gain us the power of the Holy Spirit. But rather, we must examine all the prophecies we hear, no matter if they came from a person with powerful prophetic track record or from a person who obviously has unsettled life issues. However, if a person is clearly in rebellion against God, we must not receive from him no matter how powerful he is.
The Lord can also choose to anoint you with spiritual gift. If that happens, praise Jesus' good name and stay humble, because He alone is worthy of all praise. We are sinners and none of us is perfect. But the Lord can still use us mightily if we obey.
When a person is anointed, he was anointed for the common good of the church and not for his own good. The person must bear this in his mind in his ministry. The Holy Spirit gives us gifts so that we could be the gifts for others.
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Spiritual Travel Is Not A New Concept
Many of us have traveled extensively but have at the end of our travels come away feeling less than satisfied which is why it makes sense to find out a little bit more about how spiritual travel can provide that feeling of fulfillment. If you have had your fill of cathedrals from the Gothic era and the sight of another Madonna does not uplift your spirits then you need to find an alternative solution which can take the form of traveling to find spiritual solace.
travel is more than a catch phrase meant to make you seek some far off destination. As a matter of fact, traveling for spiritual reasons is not new because from the very earliest times in our history people have made pilgrimages. Traveling for religious purposes is not a new concept and as far back as in the early 16th century Spanish nationals (Jesuits) used to travel to places such as Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina to build missions where natives would be educated in the Christian religion.
Today, however if you want to travel to find spiritual awakening there are as many different options available to you can imagine and these options provide you with a chance to visit places other than the Vatican and Yucatan and Egypt. If you wish to enjoy solitary spiritual upliftment then it pays to take in a few idyllic places such as Buddhist monasteries that are mostly situated in Asia with a few also located in the USA and in Europe.
For the real Buddhist spiritual travel experience you ought to consider making Bodhgaya (located in Bihar in India). This is the very place where the revered Lord Buddha sat and obtained enlightenment beneath a huge Bodhi tree. Today, this place has seen a huge Mahabodi Temple complex being constructed here and which is inhabited by Buddhist monks from every part of the world.
This place is exceptional as it provides utmost serenity and it is truly very peaceful. You will come across monks from every corner of the world who too sits beneath a gigantic carved statue of Lord Buddha and who read from the Holy Scriptures and indulge in serious contemplation.
The best way to fly into Bodhgaya is to take a flight from Kolkata to Gaya airport. However, if you want to fly in from the rest of India you will need to deplane at Patna airport that is almost a hundred kilometers away from there. A train journey is the more relaxed and cheaper mode of transport and all it requires is to get off at Gaya from where Bodhgaya is not far away.
For those who are planning to travel from the rest of India the closest airport is Patna which is also the capital of Bihar and which is 87 miles from the town of Bodhgaya. You can also choose to travel by train which will mean getting off at Gaya that is close to Bodhgaya and which means traveling at leisure and for considerably less cost.
For those of you who wish to enjoy special then a trip to Bodhgaya is certainly a good option and the best time to visit here is after September and before the summer months begin. The best time to come here is however between November and the month of February while months between June and September are the worst times which is when the monsoons hit this part of the world.
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Understanding Mormonism and The LDS Church Ideas
Understanding the Mormon church can be quite a difficult task because what seems to be on the surface is really not what it is when one starts to study it further. Many individuals will say that they are not aware of the Mormon church but if you have any knowledge of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints then yes you do know of the Mormons.
This was an organization that was actually formed in 1830. The biggest stance of this particular church is that they believe that they are the only restored Church of Christ and this was all to have taken place through a revelation of Joseph Smith there past leader. What the Mormons believe is that prior to the formation of this church that the entire world was caught up in massive religious confusion called the great apostasy. This was a time where people were living in darkness and it wasn't till the Mormon church came along where their church put things back on track again.
One of the frustrations that the Mormon Church runs into is that they believe that too often there is misinformation about them and this is leading people to many misconceptions. This is the reason that most individuals that are not of the Mormon belief don't understand what position they take in Christianity or their doctrine. In many ways the Mormon church uses the same vocabulary as what the Christian church believes as well. The biggest out of many discrepancies according to the Christian belief is that they believe that Joseph Smith was a God himself.
One of the things that the Mormon Church believe or promote is that there are many other religions that share the same doctrines as theirs and therefore are entitled to the same salvation. They will often in their approach to preaching their beliefs will encourage individuals to embrace the true Church of Jesus Christ. This not necessarily referring to the Church person with whom they are talking to but to the Latter-day Saints Church because they believe that this is the one that Jesus restored through Joseph Smith. They firmly believe that this is the concept that Jesus taught when he was here on earth and therefore has to be the true church.
It's interesting to note that after the supposed prophecy of Joseph Smith he wrote 13 articles on faith. What these articles pertain to are now what the basic Mormon beliefs center on. Basically the beliefs are broke down into several categories such as the Church of Jesus Christ, gospel and principles, family purpose ,and the life and nature of God. The Mormons believe that after the last apostle died that there was no authority left to lead the Church and that all of the doctrines that Jesus had taught were changed over the years and eventually this led into living in darkness.
Naturally everybody is entitled to their own opinions and their own beliefs. The same is applicable to the Mormons. If they so choose to follow the doctrine of Joseph Smith then they have that right. Christianity in its authority takes offense that the Church of Latter-Day Saints is standing on the basics of Christianity and yet have taken all those basics and misconstrued them into what they feel is the true gospel.
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Explore The Conflicts Of Mormonism vs Christianity
For individuals that are not too well versed in either the Mormon religion or Christianity as society knows it they will often wonder what are the differences between these two religions. According to the Mormons they will consider themselves as the true Christians and the only church that is going to be recognized by God himself. First of all it must be remembered that the whole Mormon religion is based on Joseph Smiths vision that he purported to have in 1820 where to celestial beings appeared to him during this vision. It was declared to Joseph that that there was no true religion on earth and that he was going to be chosen to institute the new church religion.
One of the things that must be realized is that Christians believe that God is the spirit whereas Joseph taught that God himself was once a man and through his good way of living became a God. Joseph also uses the term God as plural and further believes that that man can and will become gods if they are to live their life the way that the Church of latter-day Saints promote. The Christians believe that Jesus is Lord of all and creator of all the Mormons will tell you that this was the spirit brother of Lucifer
There is no way that you would ever get any Mormon to tell you that the Bible was the only book to be depended on. The Mormons have several books written by man and the most distinctive one is a book of Mormon which was written on the teachings of Joseph Smith. So as far as they are concerned this book is the only one that should be depended on. Most Mormons although they will refer to the holy Bible for some resources but this is most often for convenience and as a way to prove that they are true Christians. There are several other books that they will depend on as well and this is "The Doctrine and Covenants" and the "Pearl of great Price".
In the book "Doctrines and Covenants" it will have the revelations of polygamy. It's interesting to note though that this revelation of polygamy did not come about until after the government was threatening to take action against the Mormon church for their stance on this subject.
The book "Pearl of great Price" suggested to the revelation that was used to make sure that the black society did not enter into the priesthood of the Mormons which means according to the Mormons that they could never become gods.
To add to all of these interesting takes of the Mormons one has to take a close look at their viewpoint . This becomes interesting in that they believe that there are several level to heaven, if fact there are basically three .Depending on your life here on earth will dictate which department or level of heaven that you will be able to go to. Their vision of how they are going to appear before God is wearing fig leaf aprons and holding all the good works that they have done while here on earth in their hands. It would seem that no matter what sins were committed here on earth everyone will have some type of good standing in heaven although it might take some longer than others to get there.
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The Great LDS Temple Paradox – Mormon Christians Uncovered
The great arguments among the Christians and the Mormons is that the Mormons will not accept the Christian creeds. The belief here is that the very same reasons that exclude the Mormons or the Latter Day Saints from Christianity as it is known today also excludes the original Christians of the New Testament .what is the big reference here is to the nicean creed or any other creeds that came after the Bible.
As far as using other books beside the Bible an argument of the Mormons are Christians will be quick to point out that the early Christians were not either. They will bring to the point the name of the New Testament itself which indicates that it was a new volume of Scripture. The consensus is that there are many new volumes regarding this Scripture. They will note that many of the early Christians did give credence to the Gospel of Matthew but that there were Jewish writings as well and there are other books accepted by the early Christians that are not being used today such as the book of Enoch. So the bottom line comes down to that if the society of Christianity is not going to accept the Mormons as being Christians of today then they have to put what were called Christians in the biblical days into the same category as being non-Christian.
Wasn't it just in the past few years the mormons have started to pretend to be Christians in order to better fit into society?
It has to be taken into consideration that many years ago that the Mormons made no claim to be part of the Christian religion. The argument now being raised by Christians is that the Mormons have taken a opposite approach to this because they want to be able to fit into society and a better way. The argument from the seniors of the Mormon church denied this and stated that they have changed nothing since their inception back in the beginning when Joseph Smith puts the church of latter day saints together.
In respect to this argument they will make several references to Joseph Smith's prophecies and writing they will further go on to say that the concept that Mormons are definitely Christians are accepted by anyone that is familiar with the Church of Mormons should be pointed out that many of the writings of the Mormons will make it very clear that they had no intention of becoming just another Church of America.
It is believed that the inception of this church was based on Joseph Smiths vision that God wanted him to bring a new church to earth because none that were here were correct. Great exception is taken to the fact that many Christians will refer to theMormons as being a form of cult. Any individual that is part of Mormonism holds a high caliber of respect for Joseph Smith. It must be remembered that he has been accepted as being a prophet of the religion and is the only one that had the right to set the tone for what the church would stand for. The Mormons profess of a letter from a past congressmen who have heard Joseph Smith preach and found no discourse with Christianity. It is writings like this that they will heavily dependent on in support their claims
The real problem comes down to where it is almost a play on words when trying to discern just exactly what the Mormons do stand for and what they do not. There is no doubt that they believe in many segments of the Bible however in respect to Joseph Smiths teaching there have been additions and exceptions and this is where the argument from the Christian standpoint comes into play that there now are no exceptions to what is written in the Bible
In respect to the argument that Mormons are now referring to Jesus Christ more than what they did years ago it is pointed out that Ted Jones who was a Baptist missionary brought up the very same complaint back in 1912 therefore if it was evident then that the Mormons were relying on the term Christianity certainly is not something that has been just surfacing in the last few years.
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The Latter Day Saints Records – All About Mormon Christians
Almost every Mormon will answer the question are Mormons Christians with an addict yes.
It can become quite complex when trying to sort out just what do the Mormons believe. On the surface it seems like they are in tune with what Christianity teaches. They believe that Jesus is the Redeemer and the son of God and that his atonement was for all mankind. They will refer to the holy Bible in this regard but then they also depend on another book very strongly over and above the Bible. This is called the book of Mormon. In this book it is declared that their job is to convince the Jews and gentiles that Jesus is the Christ.
According to the Latter-day Saints Church which is the Mormon church Joseph Smith is the one and only prophet that God chose to reveal his new church to. Now its interesting to note about how they promote Joseph as they make the statement that the fundamental principles of their church is simply that Christ was buried arose again the third day and then went on to Heaven. The problem is though that they will say that anything else that is added to this is an appendage. This is something that goes against Christianity as it stands upon the premise that there is to be nothing added extra to God's holy Word which is contained in the holy Bible.
Another controversy with the Mormons is that they have the strong stand on what they feel that a Christian is which is of course is only within their religion according to them. They also will not tell you that they believe that it is possible that one can still be a Christian and have a different point of view to theirs.
It's really interesting to see how they will take the Scripture and apply it to their belief they will point out that the term Christian or Christians is only spoken up three times in the New Testament the interpretation of a Christian is in their eyes one that follows Christ.
The Mormons have difficulty understanding why Christians will only depend on the one specific book being the Holy Bible. Their argument is that it is inconclusive and that a lot of its information was lost over the years and that it also has not been historical proven. This is their explanation of needing the book written by their prophet Joseph Smith.
They also promote that the word Christian has been used somewhat loosely over the many many years. So in as a word in itself it is really not all that clear. The Mormons who will resort back to history in many cases to stand on their beliefs and to put down some of the beliefs of the Christians as we know it today. They believe that many of the Christian teachings and practices are not true and are in many ways lacking many of the truths and are inadequate to put it as simple as possible. They will tell you that a Christian is a person who accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord. This again sounds just exactly as what a Christian would tell you. The difference is that there will be an appendage to this on the behalf of the Mormons where it will not be with the Christians.
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Mormon Secrets – Discover The Truth Of Mormonism
If one were to ask at the Mormon what their beliefs are they will more than likely refer you to the 13 articles of faith. These are points at that were written by their founder Joseph Smith in order to explain what the Mormon church is based on. The Mormon church incidentally is the Church of latter-day Saints. Some of the points covered in the 13 articles are based on what they believe in God as being the eternal father and that his son is Jesus Christ and they also believe in the Holy Ghost. If one goes a little further to research this they will soon find that be are not considered as one and the same as Christian belief teaches but the Mormons believe they are three separate Gods.
They believe that man is punished because of what they do not because of what Adam did. They will tell you that they believed in the atonement of Christ and that all mankind will be saved but going a little further they will stipulate that saving comes from obedience to the Gospel. In essence they are taking away being saved by grace which was the payment Christ made when he died on the cross in accordance to the Christian belief
They believe that the important sectors of their faith is first to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ then following that must be repentance after that comes baptism and then the laying on of hands. These again on the surface appear very closely related to the standard Christian religion
In order to be of any type of leader or significance then you must be an individual that has been called by God through prophecy and also all by the laying on of hands of those that are in authority now.
They believe in the organization that goes back to the New Testament days referring to apostles and prophets etc.
They believe in the gift of tongues and prophecy as well as visions and healings. Again many of the beliefs are tha of whicht the Christian religion holds true.
One of the interesting and most substantial factors to bear in mind is that they do believe that the Bible is the Word of God only when it is translated correctly. They will also tell you in the same breath that they believe the book of Mormon to be the word of God as well. It must be noted that the book of Mormon was written by Joseph Smith himself.
They do believe in the revelations that God gives. They do stand on the premise of the restoration of the 10 gatherings of the tribes but this is to be built upon the American soil.
They believe that all men should be allowed to worship how, where or what they may. However based on this if your beliefs are not following the Mormon belief you would never take a position of authority in their organization. They believed in obeying the government and the laws. They also hold the promise of doing good to all men.
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Mormon Secrets – A Life Sketch of Joseph Smith LDS Founder
Anyone that has heard anything about the Mormon religion has most likely heard the name Joseph Smith. This is a man that was born in Vermont during the year of 1805 in December and he was one of 11 children.
Josephs upbringing was that of a poor family. Education wise he only had actually three years of school and as part of his daily living it included instruction in the Bible as well as being taught to read and write by his parents.
Joseph certainly showed signs of bravery when as a youngster he ended up getting typhoid fever even through complications ended up meaning that the doctors wanted to amputate his leg. Joseph as well as his parents refused to have this done and requested that just a piece of the bone be removed. He would not take any type of alcohol to dull the pain and only asked that his father hold him down while the procedure was being done. His belief in the Lord at that time was great and he walked on crutches for three years but ended up with his leg healing.
When Joseph was 14 years old there was quite a religious campaign going on throughout New York and this campaign was by many churches looking for recruits Joseph was not sure just where to go so he prayed about it and this is where the conception of the first vision took place that Joseph is claimed to have had. Joseph purports that after this first vision he received many visions from other divine messengers besides God and Christ.
Tragedy still continued to follow Joseph even after he married. They ended up having nine children which included adopting two. Out of all these children only four survived and in fact the last child born came into the world five months after Joseph himself had died.
The Church of Mormons believe that Joseph was led to a hill in New York where he received some documentation in the holy records from an angel named Maroni and this was to have given some historical history about the Americas.
During Josephs leadership of the Mormon church he witnessed it grow from a mere six members to over 26,000. This was not without having to endure great persecution from other people. Joseph claimed himself as being a prophet of God and there is no doubt that his congregation and followers believed this as well. His death came about when he was murdered by a mob in 1844 this was done in prison where the claim is that he had been jailed for false charges concerning riot and treason.
It's easy to see though that the religion that Joseph Smith started did not die when he and his brother did. The Mormon church is very strong in the United States and other countries as well.
It's hard to get a handle on just want the actual doctrine of the Mormons is their church is officially called the Church of Latter Day Saints.
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What Does Mormonism Teach? Christian Teachings Vs Mormon Scriptures
This is a question that is asked by many when it comes to attempting to understand the Mormon religion. The Mormons would most likely answer this question stating it would depend on what individuals expect Christianity to be. The Mormons will tell you that they do certainly include the Bible as part of their study among the other four books which they follow as well. To really understand the Mormon religion you have to understand their basic doctrine.
According to their doctrine there is certainly more than one God and they actually believe there are many gods and they also believe that they can becomes gods and goddesses themselves once they pass on depending on their actions while here on earth.
When it comes to God being a man at some point in time the Mormons will tell you that God was actually a man and as time progressed he became a God and that he also has a body of flesh and bone.
They will go on to teach that Jesus and Satan were spirit brothers and that Jesus was actually the elder of the two and they were from God who is flesh and blood.
When it comes to the Trinity and the Mormons they do teach the deity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost but they consider them as three separate gods
They have the unusual believe that sin is a great blessing to all of us as sin was instituted by Adam.
As far as the atonement from the death of Christ the Mormons believe that the atonement is for everyone whether they accept Christ by faith or not. But added to this to be saved one also has to follow the exclusive Mormon rituals.
In respect to the Bible they just consider it to have been corrupted over the years therefore is missing important facts and information.
With the exception of those special Mormons who have discovered the restored gospel as they put it the belief is that the world is still in a total state of apostasy.
When one looks over all of the key factors of what the Christian religion is based on its easy to see that the Mormon religion does not follow the same beliefs. Unfortunately as far as the Christian stance many of the Scriptures and those that the Mormons do relate to and they will teach goes contrary to what the Bible is teaching according to the Christians. Most likely one of the most significant factors out of many that contradict the Christian religion is the fact that they believe that they will become gods themselves when the Bible teaches that there is but one God.
Many in the Christian belief are concerned about what the Mormons are teaching because of the Bible specifically warning of false prophets who will teach another gospel. It must be remembered that the Mormon believe is more based on their spiritual leader as opposed to what the Bible itself speaks of.
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Read This Article If You’re A Mormon
If you have heard of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints then you have heard about the Mormons. On the surface the Mormons will tell you that they do believe that Jesus is the savior of the world and they also believe in the Bible. So far up to now that doesn't seem to be that quite unusual as to what many other religions believe. Where things start to change though is where some of their beliefs stem that Jesus appeared to their one time leader Joseph Smith. This was to have taken place in the 1820s. Apparently the whole reason for this appearance was to restore Christ Church back to a way that it was meant to be. If one thinks that the Mormons is a small religion you might want to think again as it is the fourth largest in the United States alone.
So to really take a look at what the Mormons believe quickly on the surface it will seem to be insignificant as far as changes go with basic Christianity. It is when you get beyond the surface that you begin to realize that there are some very major differences. Quite often when you are researching as to what are the Mormon beliefs the first part of their belief will be in tune with Christianity but it is the add-ons to the beliefs that make the major changes. The Mormons will tell you that they believe that you must follow the same path that Jesus taught when he was here on earth to achieve eternal life. The question raised here is the interpretation of what the Christians feel that Jesus taught as opposed to what the Mormons believe.
The Mormons do believe that God has a plan for every individual and they do believe that the Prophets are the one that have delivered God's Word through the years starting with Adam. They will further go on to stipulate that all of the teachings from different sectors on earth are what should be followed. In respect to the Prophets they believe that much of their teachings was lost over the years and therefore the true gospel ought to be restored.
This leads to the fact that they believe that Gods plan for restoring the earth was all carried through Joseph Smith. The story is that as a young 14-year-old he was seeking Gods word on what church he should join and this was when he received his first vision. Apparently in the vision he was told not to join any churches but to restore the Church of Jesus Christ. From this point on Joseph began to lead his church as a self-proclaimed prophet.
So it can see where on the surface there can be a great deal of confusion when it comes to the Mormons. As we have shown their basic doctrine falls very closely to the Christian doctrine but when it gets down to specifics it completely changes. This is the argument and the stance that the Christian world takes against Mormonism because of the twisting of what they believe are the Bible basics.
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