www.saintsalive.com

NEWSLETTER MARCH 2006

Dear Friends,

Things have certainly been on the move at our ministry the last month or so. I just finished installing a new; 250-Gigabyte drive on my desktop computer and the change has been amazing. I thought I was at the leading edge of the world of technology when I installed that 30 gigabyte drive some while back, never imagining what I could do to ever fill it. Now I know.

After 30 years of ministering to people lost in spiritual darkness, I think I have boiled it down to a simple formula. I seem to be able to achieve results in less time with fewer materials than ever before. Maybe it is because I can’t remember all the details I used to keep stored in my brain... All the false prophecies, the many errors in the Book of Mormon, the crossover heresies of the Mormon temple ritual and the degree work of Freemasonry. I could teach for 4 hours just on the archeological evidences [or total lack thereof] of the Book of Mormon. While all that is great information in great detail, I have placed it on our website for your free access.

The crux of the heresy of Mormonism, Islam, Freemasonry, The Jehovah Witnesses and a pot full of other pseudo-religious cultic groups is simply what they say about Jesus.

Jesus thought it an important enough point to bring it up with his disciples. It was important enough for them that you can read about it in three of the Gospels. [Ed: scripture is from NKJV]

Please read the following article carefully. We need to know in whom we trust for our salvation. Not an idea, not a good life full of good deeds, not in an organization or temple rituals or secret/scared signs and grips. We need to why we Christians trust in the gift of salvation given by our Lord Jesus and we need to be able to tell the world what we know and why we know it.

Please remember us in your prayers and giving. The size and activities of the ministry grow each springtime and we struggle to keep up. Your prayers cover us and your gifts are the resource we use to pay the bills, ship the materials, and travel to the lost.

Please make a difference with us this month. Send in a greeting, a gift, a prayer today. You can do it on-line, or by email or in a letter...But, let us know you are out there as part of our team.

Your Brother in Christ,

Ed Decker

Your brother in Christ, Ed Decker

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Who do men say that I am?

When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Matt 16:13-16

Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?” Mark 8:27

And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?" So they answered and said, “John the Baptist, but some say Elijaa and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Luke 9:18-20

Who does Jesus say that He is?

 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. John 6:51

I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me.” John 7:28-29

"I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12

I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me." John 8:18

Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” John 8:58

As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:5

 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. John 10:9-10

 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep John 10:11-12

I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. John 10:14-15

"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6

"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. John 15:1-2

"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. John 15:5-6

Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” John 18:37

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Rev 1:8

The Jesus of the Cults

There is literally a smorgasbord of Jesus Christs being served up to the public. Who is the Jesus of the cults? Let us give you just a brief idea. Jesus said, in the last days there's going to come many false christs. Paul warned of it in the scriptures. We've got them by the hundreds today! By the millions, if you believe Shirley Mclaine's pronouncement that we are all “Jesus Christs.”

Who is the Jesus of Jehovah's Witnesses? They say He is the archangel, Michael, and that He was the first creation of God, came to earth as a man, died on a stake and rose invisibly as a ghost.

The Mormons say that Jesus was simply one God in a pantheon of Gods, He's the brother of Satan, that the cross and blood of Christ is foolishness. He points the way, but we ourselves are our own ‘way.’ Mary Baker Eddy taught in Christian Science that Jesus was a divine idea, a nice idea.

Sun Myung Moon, in the Unification Church, says that Jesus was a man who failed, and that he, Sun Myung Moon is the second coming of Jesus Christ. The Bahais say that Jesus is one of nine great world manifestations. They say it does not matter what religion you believe, that all religions are basically the same.

The Unitarians say that Jesus was a good man but his followers mistakenly deified him. The spiritists say that Jesus is an advanced medium in the sixth sphere in the astrological projection, wherever that is.

The Rosicrucians say that Jesus is the man at the station of cosmic consciousness. Maharishi and Transcendent Meditation says Jesus was an enlightened guru who never suffered or died for anyone. And the list goes on and on.

You need to understand that the Jesus of the cults is not the Jesus of the Bible. They have another Jesus, a counterfeit, a false Christ who can save no one. And the greatest question still before us is "what think ye of Jesus Christ? Who is He?"

Who is the real Jesus Christ?
That is the ultimate question.

"Dear friends, 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.”

This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world." (1 John 4:1-3)

John says to test these people. Do they confess that Jesus Christ is God come in the flesh? If they deny that, he says, then that they are of the antichrist. Now there are many cults that believe that their particular Jesus was actually in the flesh. But John had already recorded for us in his gospel who this unique one is that has come in the flesh and is from God.

The other scripture is in the Book of John. John starts his gospel so there would be no mistake. God took on human flesh, God incarnate.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:1, 14)

The cults have another gospel, able to enslave you into a man made system trying to earn and work for your salvation apart from Jesus Christ. But Jesus Christ is "...the way, the truth and the light. No one comes to the Father but by him. (John 14:6)

Acts 4:12 says: "there is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved but that of Jesus Christ."

Salvation is not a man made system or organization, but it is a gift of God. It was bought and paid for by the eternal Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who was the infinite sacrifice, who shed His blood on the cross, for an infinite amount of sins, that we could come by faith and receive that free gift of salvation. That's why they call it "good news." It is the true power of God Himself in each and every one of us.

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MY KINGDOM COME

THE MORMON QUEST FOR GODHOOD  

by Ed Decker

Chapter Seven

The Birth of Heresy

 is now online

http://www.saintsalive.com/mormonism/mykingdomcome/toc.htm

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“FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE”

Don't miss our new article on the impossibility of evolution!

CLICK HERE

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Checking in on Islam

Translations of the Qur'an, Chapter 9:

AL-TAWBA (REPENTANCE, DISPENSATION)

University of Southern California files http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/009.qmt.html

English translations of Quran by Muslim scholars Yusufali, Picthal and Shakir

009.030
YUSUFALI: The Jews call 'Uzair a son of Allah, and the Christians call Christ the son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah's curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth!

PICKTHAL: And the Jews say: Ezra is the son of Allah, and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah. That is their saying with their mouths. They imitate the saying of those who disbelieved of old. Allah (Himself) fighteth against them. How perverse are they!

SHAKIR: And the Jews say: Uzair is the son of Allah; and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah; these are the words of their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before; may Allah destroy them; how they are turned away!

The next time someone tries to tell you that Muslims and Christians and Jews are all part of the same “book” and roots and can peacefully co-exist, read them the quotes from their holy book, above.

The next time someone says that Islam is a peaceful religion, remind them that even in Afghanistan, where we just ‘liberated’ the nation from the Taliban rule, the Muslims in charge still plan to kill any Muslim who becomes a Christian.

Afghan man who became Christian may face death for rejecting Islam By DANIEL COONEY The Associated Press 03-20-06

KABUL, Afghanistan — An Afghan man is being prosecuted in a Kabul court and could be sentenced to death on a charge of converting from Islam to Christianity, a crime under this country's Islamic laws, a judge said Sunday.

The trial is thought to be the first of its kind in Afghanistan and highlights a struggle between religious conservatives and reformists over what shape Islam should take here four years after the ouster of the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban regime.

The defendant, Abdul Rahman, 41, was arrested last month after his family accused him of becoming a Christian, Judge Ansarullah Mawlavezada said. Rahman was charged with rejecting Islam, and his trial started Thursday.

During the one-day hearing, the defendant confessed that he converted from Islam to Christianity 16 years ago while working as a medical-aid worker for an international Christian group helping Afghan refugees in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, Mawlavezada said.

"We are not against any particular religion in the world. But in Afghanistan, this sort of thing is against the law," the judge said. "It is an attack on Islam."

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Big Love, Big Mess, Big Cover-up

The new HBO program, Big Love is set inside a polygamous household in the center of Utah. Meant to be entertaining and provocative, the series has hit home on one of the two. While rated not much more than a ho-hum series, it has hit a big nerve with the Mormon Church and its people, who are now desperately trying to sweep the issue of its long history and involvement with polygamy back under a very dirty rug.

While the critics are mildly bored, the media is having a field day with the LDS two-step and especially now that the Brethren have had to make a formal denial and try to push the practice away from its door.

picture source: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11644960/displaymode/1176/rstry/11644916/

Church Responds to Questions on TV Series
6 March 2006

From: http://www.lds.org/newsroom/showrelease/0,15503,3881-1-23019,00.html

Over the past few weeks, Church Public Affairs has received numerous calls from newspaper, magazine and TV entertainment writers about a new television series called Big Love. In the series, set in a modern suburb of Salt Lake City, the main character keeps up a deceptive life in a fringe world of polygamy with his three wives and households. Journalists want to know what the Church thinks of the program, the subject matter and HBO’s decision to promote it. In responding, Church spokespersons have made three major points:

1. Concern for abuse victims

The Church has long been concerned about the illegal practice of polygamy in some communities, and in particular about persistent reports of emotional and physical child and wife abuse emanating from them. It will be regrettable if this program, by making polygamy the subject of entertainment, minimizes the seriousness of that problem and adds to the suffering of abuse victims.

2. Confusion over the continued practice of polygamy

The central characters of Big Love are not “Mormons,” or, more properly termed, Latter-day Saints. HBO has said the script makes it clear that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints don’t practice polygamy. Still, placing the series in Salt Lake City, the international headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is enough to blur the line between the modern Church and the program’s subject matter and to reinforce old and long-outdated stereotypes.

Polygamy was officially discontinued by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1890. Any Church member adopting the practice today is excommunicated. Groups that continue the practice in Utah and elsewhere have no association whatsoever with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most of their practitioners have never been among its members.

Unfortunately, this distinction is often lost on members of the public and even on some senior journalists. When ABC network’s Prime Time recently aired a program focused on the secretive polygamous community of Colorado City, the reporter repeatedly referred to members of the community as “Mormon polygamists.” In response, the Church points to the Associated Press style guide for journalists which states: "The term Mormon is not properly applied to the other ... churches that resulted from the split after [Joseph] Smith's death." In other words, polygamous communities should never be referred to as "Mormon" polygamists or “Mormon” fundamentalists.

3. Concern over the moral standards of television entertainment

Despite its popularity with some, much of today’s television entertainment shows an unhealthy preoccupation with sex, coarse humor and foul language. Big Love, like so much other television programming, is essentially lazy and indulgent entertainment that does nothing for our society and will never nourish great minds. Parents who are casual about their viewing habits ought not to be surprised if teaching moral choices and civic values to their children becomes harder as a result.

For that reason and others, Church leaders have consistently cautioned against such entertainment, joining with other religious, education and government leaders in inviting individuals and families to follow a higher road of decency, self-discipline and integrity.

Now, having given you the official stand/ Press Release on Polygamy and the HBO program featuring it, let me say the apple has not fallen far from the tree; in fact, there are polygamous apples rolling around all throughout this orchard.

If the LDS Church really abhors polygamy, then why is the law of Eternal Marriage [Polygamy] still a very valid and active part of LDS Scripture? The Mormons are on the ‘horns of a dilemma’ here. They say they are against it, that those practicing it are not Mormons but sinners, yet those practicing it say they are the ones being faithful to the LDS prophets and Scriptures, that those presently in authority are the ones falling away from the real faith.

In fact, the actual Mormon scripture says that one is damned if not practicing it.

4 For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting ^acovenant; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye ^bdamned^•; for no one can ^reject^• this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory.

Look at the actual introduction to the ‘Scripture’
sitting on the LDS Church official Website.

Taken from http://scriptures.lds.org/dc/132
note: control click on an underlined item to go to the original source.

THE DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS
SECTION 132

Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Nauvoo, Illinois, recorded July 12, 1843, relating to the new and everlasting covenant, including the eternity of the marriage covenant, as also plurality of wives. HC 5: 501—507. Although the revelation was recorded in 1843, it is evident from the historical records that the doctrines and principles involved in this revelation had been known by the Prophet since 1831.

1—6, Exaltation is gained through the new and everlasting covenant; 7—14, The terms and conditions of that covenant are set forth; 15—20, Celestial marriage and a continuation of the family unit enable men to become gods; 21—25, The strait and narrow way that leads to eternal lives; 26—27, Law given relative to blasphemy against the Holy Ghost; 28—39, Promises of eternal increase and exaltation made to prophets and saints in all ages; 40—47, Joseph Smith is given the power to bind and seal on earth and in heaven; 48—50, The Lord seals upon him his exaltation; 51—57, Emma Smith is counseled to be faithful and true; 58—66, Laws governing the plurality of wives are set forth.

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(c) copyright 2006, Ed Decker, all rights reserved