Refuting the Ex-Mormon: Carrie Sheffield

The Mormon Eagle has started the Refuting the Ex-Mormon series to, in the words of Joseph Smith the Prophet, "disabuse the public mind, and put all inquirers after truth in possession of the facts, as they have transpired, in relation to . . . the Church" (JS-H 1:1).  This first refutation in this series is concerning an editorial written by Carrie Sheffield for The Washington Post, in which she lies about the Church.  Carrie Sheffield is an ex-Mormon, who has left the Church, but apparently cannot leave the Church alone.  The article she wrote is called "A Mormon Church in Need of Reform".  The Eagle will attempt to refute only some of the falsely-stated relevant lies as told by Ms. Sheffield.

"The church isn’t exactly welcoming of outsiders"
Now, true, she may be talking politically, and in that she is correct to an extent.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not a Republican Church, though many more Republicans exist within the Church than do Democrats.  The Church does not endorse any politicians, nor tell its members how and for whom to vote, however.  Each individual Mormon may vote for whom he wants, as moved upon by one's own convictions, as ever he will.

In regards to being unwelcoming of outsiders in a theological sense, we have the words of President Joseph Smith, Jun., President Gordon B. Hinckley, and Nephi, respectively.  "We don't ask any people to throw away any good they have got; we only ask them to come and get more" (History of the Church 5:259).  "We say to the people, in effect, you bring with you all the good that you have, and then let us see if we can add to it" (Ensign, August 1998).  "Hath [Jesus Christ] commanded any that they should not partake of his salvation?  Behold I say unto you, Nay; but he hath given it free for all men; and he hath commanded his people that they should persuade all men to repentance.  Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake of his goodness?  Behold I say unto you, Nay; but all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden" (2 Ne. 26:27-28).

We see from the above quotations that all are welcome within The Church of Jesus Christ, provided first that they forsake those things which are wrong, and continue to do the things which are right, according to the revelations.

"The church I was raised in values unquestioning obedience over critical thinking."

This is definitely not true.  I will let President Brigham Young speak concerning Theology versus critical thinking within the Church: "Not only does the religion of Jesus Christ make the people acquainted
with the things of God, and develop within them moral excellence and purity, but it holds out every encouragement and inducement possible, for them to increase in knowledge and intelligence, in every branch of mechanism, or in the arts and sciences, for all wisdom, and all the arts and sciences in the world are from God, and are designed for the good of his people" (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 193).  President Young also stated, "The religion embraced by the Latter-day Saints, if only slightly understood, prompts them to search diligently after knowledge.  There is no other people in existence more eager to see, hear, learn, and understand truth" (DBY, 247).  In addition, the LDS Church holds in its grasp four institutions of higher learning.  

In connection with critical thinking and obedience, Ms. Sheffield complains thusly, "Mormonism’s claims about anthropology, history and other subjects contradict reason and science."  This is also not true, as per a statement by that great aforementioned Prophet-colonizer Brigham Young.  Said he, "Our religion will not clash with or contradict the facts of science [or any other secular phase of learning] in any particular. . . . There is no mystery except to the ignorant.  This we know by what we have learned naturally since we have had a being on the earth" (DBY, 258–59).  Elder Dallin H. Oaks said this when he was President of Brigham Young University: "At Brigham Young University and in the other institutions of the Church Educational System, we are concerned with teaching the fundaments [sic] of spiritual and secular knowledge and with bringing those teachings into harmony in the lives of men and women in order to prepare them for a balanced and full life of service to God and fellowman" ("Strive For Excellence", October 1971 General Conference).  This all should be sufficient to throw out anything Ms. Sheffield says against the Kingdom of God.

"Many gay Mormons have been driven to suicide, deeply conflicted about whether acting on their sexuality is, as the church teaches, a sin."

Homosexual activity is a sin, for "wickedness never was happiness" (Alma 41:10).  Many a distraught person has taken his own life because he was mired in sin and thought he had no way out.  The people who committed suicide made a choice, the which choice The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had no hand in whatsoever.  President Boyd K. Packer stated, "We will hold to the principles and laws and ordinances of the gospel. If they are misunderstood either innocently or willfully, so be it. We cannot change; we will not change the moral standard" ("Cleansing the Inner Vessel", October 2010 General Conference).  However, there is always a way out, through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and full, active membership within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

To Find the Truth

Now, Ms. Sheffield, the only way to find the Truth about Mormonism (or lack thereof, if you prefer), is to read the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.  Through this Book one learns what Mormonism really teaches.  On the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon hangs the truthfulness of Joseph Smith's and Thomas S. Monson's testimonies of the reality of Christ and His Church.  The fact is, Ms Sheffield, that the Book of Mormon is indeed true, a work of scripture, and proof that God exists, that His Church is indeed The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and that all may come and find the Truth that is Mormonism, come drink from the Water of Life, and not from the befouled and stained water offered by other religions.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

"The Group" a Conduit for Apostasy

In The Daily Utah Chronicle, an article speaks of an organization, simply called The Group.  The article tells us that Andrew Johnson is the founder of The Group, and a Returned Missionary, he having served his mission in Indiana.  According to The Daily Utah Chronicle he "founded The Group in October 2010 as a safe place for secular humanists, agnostics and freethinkers in Utah County. . . . 'When I returned home, I felt like I was the only non-theist within Utah County as there were no gatherings of people like me'" ("The Group: Utah County's Covert Secular Community", The Daily Utah Chronicle, volume 121, number 16, September 2011, p. 7).

This is disconcerting because so many members of The Group are students at BYU, and so-called "active" members of the Church.  In view of this, The Mormon Eagle feels disposed to warn those who flock to this group and therefore run afoul of the teachings of the Prophets and Apostles.  No good will come of this.  I, Clark LeRay Herlin, warn all to give heed to the Living God and His servants, or suffer the consequences of apostasy.  If one leaves the LDS Church, the Gift of the Holy Ghost leaves also, as do the blessings only found in the House of the Lord.

Open Rebuke to The Group
To begin, Brother Andrew Johnson is on a slippery slope, and will sink himself (and those who ally themselves with The Group) to Hell if he does not desist.  I know this because when one gambles with Satan, one always looses.  To put it another way, I quote President John Taylor.  Said he:

When you hear a man talk against the authorities of this Church and kingdom, you may know he is sliding down hill.  He does not know what spirit influences him; he is ignorant that he is in the dark; and, unless he retraces his steps quickly, he will go overboard.  You may set that down as a fact all the time.  Why?  Because, if this is the Church and kingdom of God, and the President is the elect of God, and his council and the Twelve and others are the elect of God, and you seek to injure them, you run a great risk, and will be found fighting against God; for Jesus says, ‘He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me; and he that rejecteth you rejecteth me, and he that rejecteth me rejecteth him that sent me.' (Journal of Discourses, 7:325)

There are two fallacies, as mentioned by an anonymous female BYU student who was quoted in The Daily Utah Chronicle.

Fallacy One: No "Pure Good or Pure Evil"

The student says, "There is so much going on in the world that you can't just call pure good and pure evil" ("The Group: Utah County's Covert Secular Community", The Daily Utah Chronicle, volume 121, number 16, September 2011, p. 10).  This is false, because there are absolutes in life.  One absolute is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the Source for all good.  Amaleki tells us "there is nothing which is good save it comes from the Lord: and that which is evil cometh from the devil" (Omni 1:25).  The prophet Nephi spake of the devil, saying thus, "And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none - and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance" (2 Nephi 28:22).  The Lord Jesus Christ, speaking through Moroni, saith, "And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none save it be of me.  I am the same that leadeth men to all good" (Ether 4:12).  Even the Scriptures themselves teach of an ultimate good.  Mormon saith, "The preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just - yea, it had a more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else" (Alma 31:5).  Thus we see there is a pure Source of good, but also a source of evil.

Fallacy Two: Fulfillment and Happiness Found Outside LDS Church

The aforementioned female BYU student says, "Simply because you no longer ascribe to the Mormon faith, or any other organized religion, you can still strive for . . . fulfillment and happiness" ("The Group: Utah County's Covert Secular Community", The Daily Utah Chronicle, volume 121, number 16, September 2011, p.10).  This is also false, in the eternal sense, because to be truly happy in the next life, one must live in a family unit with God the Father, and that can only happen within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I will prove it through the words of God and His prophets. 

The Redeemer says, speaking of the Gift of the Holy Ghost, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you" (John 14:26).  President Ezra Taft Benson taught in connection with this, "[Jesus] has power to comfort an anguished heart pierced by sorrow or sin.  He provides a special kind of peace that no human agency can provide" (Ensign, June 1990, p. 2).  Abinadi taught, "O how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that is the founder of peace, yea, even the Lord, who has redeemed his people; yea, him who has granted salvation unto his people" (Mosiah 15:18).  The Lord saith, "And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments. . . . But learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come" (D&C 59:21, 23).  Thus we see that peace and fulfillment can only be had within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

An Invitation From the Lord

The Lord wills that all His children live with Him again.  However, none can unless they are clean before Him.  The Son Ahmen saith, 

Will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?  Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life.  Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me.  Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. . . . And as many as have received me, to them have I given to become the sons of God; and even so will I to as many as shall believe on my name, for behold, by me redemption cometh. (3 Nephi 9:13-15,17)

Also, He implores, "Come unto me and ye shall partake of the fruit of the tree of life; yea, ye shall eat and drink of the bread and the waters of life freely; yea, come unto me and bring forth works of righteousness, and ye shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire" (Alma 5:34-35).  As well, the Savior commands,  

Turn, all ye Gentiles, from your wicked ways; ad repent of your evil doings, of your lyings and deceivings, and of your whoredoms, and of your secret abominations, and your idolatries, and of your murders, and your priestcrafts, and your envyings, and your strifes, and from all your wickedness and abominations, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, that ye may receive a remission of your sins, and be fille with the Holy Ghost, that ye may be cumbered with my people who are of the house of Israel. (3 Nephi 29:2)

I know what I have written are bold sayings, but they are true.  I know The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true and living Church on Earth, for the Lord God hath spoken it.  I know without doubt that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, and that President Thomas S. Monson is the Lord's mouthpiece upon the earth today.  I know those who keep the commandment of God will have the peace of God and the fulfillment He promises, even eternal life.  Forsake all evil and cleave unto all Good, is my prayer.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.