Living Waters is a ministry founded by Ray Comfort with a vision is to inspire in every Christian a God-glorifying passion to fulfill the Great Commission.
It always gives me a chuckle to hear Christian know it alls attempt to describe my faith in one sentence sound bites as if they understand all of the intricacies of my LDS faith. This little clip found at WND this morning is a perfect illustration of how simplistically they marginalize and discredit the doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
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Kirk Cameron and his friend Ray Comfort seem to think that the man they interviewed on the street is the be all/end all authority on Mormon Doctrine and after Ray told him in no uncertain terms what a loser he is, the man attempted to defend the basic LDS doctrine of repentance and how to use the Atonement to cleanse our lives from sin.
They made these assertions about our faith:
“Nothing you can do to save yourself”
“You cannot “deserve” mercy”
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Section 88 of the Doctrine and Covenants has perhaps the best doctrinal explanation of our theology regarding who gets to enjoy Exaltation in the Kingdom of God. The 141 verses of this section of the book are deep doctrine and really not appropriate for sound bite christians who want their theology wrapped up in Christmas Paper and sealed with the simplistic notion that all we have to do is accept Jesus into our hearts and we are “good to go” when this earth life is finished.
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So be forewarned, if you would like the Revelation from God himself through his Prophet Joseph Smith sharing the detailed, complex, and many layered, just, and unquestionably balanced “reap what you sow” Mormon Doctrine of Eternal Life, say a little prayer to ask the Lord to help you understand, and give it a read.
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Section 76 of the Doctrine and Covenants, verses 30 through 119 has the detailed explanation of the various Kingdoms of Glory in Heaven. Read it if you want to understand the complex LDS Doctrine of Heaven and Hell: (Again, this is heavy duty doctrine that is greatly enhanced by prayer and the light of Christ illuminating your understanding. It is best read with an open mind…)
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30 And we saw a vision of the asufferings of those with whom he made war and overcame, for thus came the voice of the Lord unto us:
  31 Thus saith the Lord concerning all those who know my power, and have been made partakers thereof, and asuffered themselves through the power of the devil to be overcome, and to deny the truth and defy my power—
  32 They are they who are the asons of bperdition, of whom I say that it had been better for them never to have been born;
  33 For they are avessels of wrath, doomed to suffer the wrath of God, with the devil and his angels in eternity;
  34 Concerning whom I have said there is ano bforgiveness in this world nor in the world to come—
  35 Having adenied the Holy Spirit after having received it, and having denied the Only Begotten Son of the Father, having bcrucified him unto themselves and put him to an open cshame.
  36 These are they who shall go away into the alake of fire and brimstone, with the devil and his angels—
  38 Yea, verily, the only ones who shall anot be redeemed in the due time of the Lord, after the sufferings of his wrath.
  39 For all the rest shall be abrought forth by the resurrection of the dead, through the btriumph and the glory of the Lamb, who was slain, who was in the bosom of the Father cbefore the worlds were made.
  40 And this is the agospel, the glad btidings, which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us—
  41 That he acame into the world, even Jesus, to be bcrucified for the world, and to cbear the sins of the dworld, and to esanctify the world, and to fcleanse it from all unrighteousness;
  42 That through him all might be asaved whom the Father had put into his bpower and made by him;
  43 Who aglorifies the Father, and saves all the works of his hands, except those sons of bperdition who deny the Son after the Father has revealed him.
  44 Wherefore, he saves all aexcept them—they shall go away into beverlasting cpunishment, which is endless punishment, which is eternal punishment, to dreign with the edevil and his angels in eternity, where their fworm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched, which is their torment—
  45 And the aend thereof, neither the place thereof, nor their torment, no man knows;
  46 Neither was it revealed, neither is, neither will be revealed unto man, except to them who are made partakers thereof;
  47 Nevertheless, I, the Lord, show it by avision unto many, but straightway shut it up again;
  48 Wherefore, the end, the width, the height, the adepth, and the misery thereof, they understand not, neither any man except those who are bordained unto this ccondemnation.
  49 And we heard the voice, saying: aWrite the vision, for lo, this is the end of the vision of the sufferings of the ungodly.
  50 And again we bear record—for we asaw and heard, and this is the btestimony of the cgospel of Christ concerning them who shall come forth in the resurrection of the djust—
  51 They are they who received the atestimony of Jesus, and bbelieved on his name and were cbaptized after the dmanner of his burial, being eburied in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which he has given—
  52 That by akeeping the commandments they might be bwashed and ccleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the dhands of him who is eordained and sealed unto this power;
  53 And who aovercome by faith, and are bsealed by the Holy Spirit of cpromise, which the Father dsheds forth upon all those who are just and true.
  55 They are they into whose hands the Father has given aall things—
  56 They are they who are apriests and bkings, who have received of his fulness, and of his glory;
  57 And are apriests of the Most High, after the order of Melchizedek, which was after the order of bEnoch, which was after the corder of the Only Begotten Son.
  59 Wherefore, aall things are theirs, whether life or death, or things present, or things to come, all are theirs and they are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
  60 And they shall aovercome all things.
  61 Wherefore, let no man aglory in man, but rather let him bglory in God, who shall csubdue all enemies under his feet.
  63 These are they whom he shall bring with him, when he shall acome in the bclouds of heaven to creign on the earth over his people.
  64 These are they who shall have part in the afirst resurrection.
  65 These are they who shall come forth in the resurrection of the ajust.
  66 These are they who are come unto aMount bZion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly place, the holiest of all.
  67 These are they who have come to an innumerable company of aangels, to the general assembly and church of bEnoch, and of the cFirstborn.
  68 These are they whose names are awritten in heaven, where God and Christ are the bjudge of all.
  69 These are they who are ajust men made bperfect through Jesus the mediator of the new ccovenant, who wrought out this perfect datonement through the shedding of his own eblood.
  70 These are they whose bodies are acelestial, whose bglory is that of the csun, even the glory of God, the dhighest of all, whose glory the sun of the firmament is written of as being typical.
  71 And again, we saw the aterrestrial world, and behold and lo, these are they who are of the terrestrial, whose glory differs from that of the church of the bFirstborn who have received the fulness of the Father, even as that of the cmoon differs from the sun in the firmament.
  73 And also they who are the aspirits of men kept in bprison, whom the Son visited, and cpreached the dgospel unto them, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh;
  75 These are they who are ahonorable men of the earth, who were bblinded by the craftiness of men.
  76 These are they who receive of his glory, but not of his fulness.
  77 These are they who receive of the apresence of the Son, but not of the fulness of the Father.
  78 Wherefore, they are abodies terrestrial, and not bodies celestial, and differ in glory as the moon differs from the sun.
  79 These are they who are not avaliant in the btestimony of Jesus; wherefore, they obtain not the crown over the kingdom of our God.
  80 And now this is the end of the avision which we saw of the terrestrial, that the Lord commanded us to bwrite while we were yet in the Spirit.
  81 And again, we asaw the glory of the btelestial, which glory is that of the lesser, even as the cglory of the stars differs from that of the glory of the moon in the firmament.
  82 These are they who received not the gospel of Christ, neither the atestimony of Jesus.
  83 These are they who adeny not the Holy Spirit.
  84 These are they who are thrust down to ahell.
  85 These are they who shall not be redeemed from the adevil until the blast resurrection, until the Lord, even Christ the cLamb, shall have finished his work.
  86 These are they who receive not of his fulness in the eternal world, but of the Holy Spirit through the ministration of the terrestrial;
  87 And the terrestrial through the aministration of the celestial.
  88 And also the telestial receive it of the administering of angels who are appointed to minister for them, or who are appointed to be aministering spirits for them; for they shall be bheirs of salvation.
  89 And thus we saw, in the heavenly vision, the glory of the atelestial, which surpasses all understanding;
  90 And no man knows it except him to whom God has revealed it.
  91 And thus we saw the glory of the aterrestrial which excels in all things the glory of the telestial, even in glory, and in power, and in might, and in dominion.
  92 And thus we saw the aglory of the celestial, which bexcels in all things—where God, even the Father, reigns upon his cthrone forever and ever;
  93 Before whose throne all things bow in humble areverence, and give him glory forever and ever.
  94 They who dwell in his apresence are the church of the bFirstborn; and they see as they are seen, and cknow as they are known, having received of his fulness and of his dgrace;
  95 And he makes them aequal in power, and in might, and in dominion.
  96 And the glory of the celestial is one, even as the glory of the asun is one.
  97 And the glory of the terrestrial is one, even as the glory of the moon is one.
  98 And the glory of the telestial is one, even as the glory of the stars is one; for as one star differs from another star in glory, even so differs one from another in glory in the telestial world;
  99 For these are they who are of aPaul, and of Apollos, and of Cephas.
  100 These are they who say they are some of one and some of another—some of Christ and some of John, and some of Moses, and some of Elias, and some of aEsaias, and some of Isaiah, and some of Enoch;
  101 But areceived not the gospel, neither the testimony of Jesus, neither the prophets, neither the beverlasting covenant.
  102 Last of all, these all are they who will not be agathered with the saints, to be bcaught up unto the cchurch of the Firstborn, and received into the cloud.
  103 These are athey who are bliars, and csorcerers, and dadulterers, and ewhoremongers, and whosoever loves and makes a lie.
  104 These are they who suffer the awrath of God on earth.
  105 These are they who suffer the avengeance of eternal fire.
  106 These are they who are cast down to ahell and bsuffer the wrath of cAlmighty God, until the dfulness of times, when Christ shall have esubdued all enemies under his ffeet, and shall have gperfected his work;
  107 When he shall adeliver up the bkingdom, and present it unto the Father, spotless, saying: I have covercome and have dtrodden the ewine-press falone, even the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God.
  108 Then shall he be acrowned with the crown of his glory, to sit on the bthrone of his power to reign forever and ever.
  109 But behold, and lo, we saw the glory and the inhabitants of the telestial world, that they were as ainnumerable as the stars in the firmament of heaven, or as the sand upon the seashore;
  110 And heard the voice of the Lord saying: These all shall bow the knee, and every tongue shall aconfess to him who sits upon the throne forever and ever;
  111 For they shall be judged according to their aworks, and every man shall receive according to his own bworks, his own cdominion, in the dmansions which are prepared;
  112 And they shall be aservants of the Most High; but bwhere God and Christ cdwell they dcannot come, eworlds without end.
  113 This is the end of the vision which we saw, which we were commanded to write while we were yet in the Spirit.
  114 But agreat and marvelous are the works of the Lord, and the bmysteries of his kingdom which he showed unto us, which surpass all understanding in glory, and in might, and in dominion;
  115 Which he commanded us we should not write while we were yet in the Spirit, and are not alawful for man to utter;
  116 Neither is man acapable to make them known, for they are only to be bseen and cunderstood by the power of the Holy Spirit, which God bestows on those who dlove him, and purify themselves before him;
  117 To whom he grants this privilege of aseeing and knowing for themselves;
  118 That through the power and manifestation of the Spirit, while in the flesh, they may be able to abear his bpresence in the world of glory.
  119 And to God and the Lamb be aglory, and honor, and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
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Jenny Hatch
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PS Kirk and Ray – why don’t you call up the church and ask for an interview with one of the Apostles? I bet they would be happy to oblige, or if they are too busy, send me an email, I’d love to be interviewed! Jenny@NaturalFamilyCo.com
Natural Family Blog 🌹 Jenny Hatch 