Not community oriented

" You will not hear any discussion of Mormon doctrine and Mormon history at any Sunday meeting. You will get two nice well rehearsed missionaries(salesmen) presenting the plan(sales plan) of salvation to you at your home. You will not be encouraged to ask questions, to cite difficult or conflicting scripture, to question the origin of the B of M, historically, rationally, or logically. You will be admonished to repent, be baptized, receive a blessing, and parrot the approved line. You got the time, they got the works.
Oh, yeah, make sure to send in your 10%. Pray, pay, obey! "

" Well said! "

" This is not fair that we still have to go thru this kind of experience. our kids need to grow up learning and respecting different culture and religions.
Its a shame that baptist church is putting signs about mormonism, this is not christian. Grow up! "

" Frank.. have you ever gone to an LDS service? Since I have grown up in the LDS Church where principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ are taught on a weekly basis every Sunday and actually lived during the week by our members, then it must be that you have never visited. Our church encourages people to find out the truth for themselves and to pray about it and receive their own answers. I'm sorry that you want to look at everything rationally, logically and historically... I've been taught about the principle of Faith and that even though I've never seen Christ in person that through personal prayer and answers to prayers, I can know of the surety myself. When's the last time you've seen a burning bush that talked or someone seperate the waters so that Israelites could go through to escape the Egyptians. These things don't sound rational or logical either but I know they are true because of having been taught of the truths of the Bible every Sunday with faith being a core of that testimony. Also, in regard to the 10 percent tithing.. It's true, we like to obey the commandment of tithing as found in the Bible. It's just the funny thing we Mormons like to do obeying the commandments of God. And oh by the way, we don't have paid clergy in our church. If you are so anti against Mormons, you may want to remove all the TVs from your house because oh by the way, a Mormon is credited with inventing television. "

" Hi Frank, I happened to have been one of those missionaries you are talking about - at my own expense, donating my own time, putting worldly things aside, etc. It was a huge sacrifice. And you know what? I found great treasures (people) and saw miracles in their lives. We encouraged them to pray and find out for themselves if our message was true. You can't "parrot" an answer to prayer for another person. It's an individual experience.
I imagine Peter, James, John, and other apostles were met with the same opposition you site above. They didn't spend their time defending Jesus' gospel logically or historically, they spent their time feeding sheep, sharing the "good news" of the gospel - and teaching how to apply the gospel in our lives. That's what you'll find in a Sunday meeting.
I believe the scripture that says when we lose ourselves in service to God, we actually find ourselves. If that's a sales pitch, take it up with the Author of that sales approach. "

" Pastor Mike has given the community some food for thought. Too many of our churches have become mere social communities, and not places of worship. I think that many of us take our faith for granted...we become members of a church without doing the homework first. I have just been through a membership class in a church that appeared to be just right for me, and learned something about its' doctrine that abosultely kept me from joining it. Many who have become converted to Mormonism (and other faiths) do not hear the complete story, do not search out the details about the faith, and regret it later. Instead of criticizing the sign, onsider this a heads up, do a little studying about your own faith, whatever it may be, and compare it to others. Does it teach what you truly believe? We do have freedom of religion in our country, thank God, and EVERYONE is free to give his or her opinion for consideration. The church sign is no different than a letter to the editor of a newspaper, printed for all to read!! "

" I am a long time resident of Willcox. I love the people, and I’m glad I grew up here. I also attend First Baptist Church.
I see the majority of the responses to our marquee as a sign of the times. From what I have read in the paper and according to what individuals have told me, many see the statement “Mormons are not Christians” as prejudicial, intolerant, mean, etc. This reaction by Mormons and non-Mormons alike is typical of a post-modernism society where relativism is preferred. However, according to the Bible (which is what Christians base their beliefs on) there are moral and spiritual absolutes that are just as true as four being the sum of two and two.
I can understand how such a statement can be upsetting to those who grew up as Mormons believing they were Christians, but it is not intolerant to point out doctrinal differences.
If Mormons were Christians their doctrines would be supported by the Bible. Mormon doctrine teaches that the Father has a body of flesh and bones (Doctrines and Covenants 130:22) and that he was once a man and became a god, just as we can become a god (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith pages 345-346). The Bible says that He is a spirit (John 4:24), and that He is unchanging and eternal (Psalm 90:2; John 1:1; Hebrews 13:8). Salvation, according to the Mormons, is also viewed differently. Spencer W. Kimball, a past president of the Mormon church, stated in The Miracle of Forgiveness, “one of the most fallacious doctrines originated by Satan and propounded by man is that man is saved alone by the grace of God; that belief in Jesus Christ alone is all that is needed for salvation.” (http://www.lds.org/braille/The%20Miracle%20of%20Forgiveness.txt) The Bible states that salvation is by the grace of God alone (Ephesians 2:1-9). Mormons say that Lucifer (Satan) is the spirit brother of Jesus (Milton R. Hunter of the First Council of the Seventy, the Gospel Through the Ages, pg. 15). The Bible teaches that Jesus is God and that everything (including Lucifer) was created by Him (Colossians 1:16; John 1:1-3; 14-18). Mormons believe in a different God, a different means of salvation, and base their beliefs on writings other than the Bible. Therefore, they are not Christians.
I also want to point out that Wikipedia should not be trusted as a reliable source. Due to the fact that its articles can all be changed whenever and by whomever, no college will allow it to be used as a source.
"

" One of the great contrasts between Biblical Christianity and that of Mormonism is found in the definition of words. Mormonism has taken the Biblical words and redefined these words to fit their doctrines. When a Mormon talks about Jesus Christ, he is not talking about the Jesus of the Bible. This is one of the deceptions of cults. "

" Hi Nicholas, I want to respond to your post, not because I want to be contentious or “Bible Bash”, but I believe we should not let others define our faith incorrectly.

1. We do believe God has a body, based on evidence in the Bible. For example, when the Resurrected Jesus appeared to his disciples, he said, “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.” (Luke 24:39) And again in the Bible: “Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body…” (Phillipians 3:21)
2. And yes, we believe we can become heirs of God - like Him (not REPLACE Him). Romans 8: 17 “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”
3. We agree that God is unchanging and eternal.
4. If you read the next portion of Spencer Kimball’s book you would find this clarifying statement “However good a person’s works, he could not be saved had Jesus not died for his and everyone else’s sins. And however powerful the saving grace of Christ, it brings exaltation to no man who does not comply with the works of the gospel.” This is also verified by the Bible (try reading James chapter two). “By grace are ye saved through faith, Eph. 2: 8 , James 2: 17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”
5. We do believe that God created everything, including Satan, like you say the Bible says. We just believe that Satan used his God given agency and chose to be evil –He fell from heaven, like it says in Revelation 12: 9 “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

I want all who read this to see that we do believe in the Bible. Why are there over 20 different denominations in town? Could it be because we interpret the exact Bible differently? Let God be judge - since it's the heart He sees anyway.

By the way, the word “cult” does not appear in the Bible.
"

" I don't find the following in the Bible anywhere: The gods had a meeting and decided that the people of earth needed a plan to redeem themLucifer and Jesus, who where spirit brothers, both offereed plans: Jesus" plan was accepted and Lucifer rebelled and fell from heaven. Elohim and Mary concieved an earthly baby for Jesus to spirit to inhabit while here on Earth. Jesus blood sacrafice attones some of our sins, after we do all that we can do to be good. Joseph Smith Jr. is the only one who can approve our entry into heaven, but we must believe in Jesus also AND do the works of the Mormon gospel. ????????? "

" I can see how some people may be offended by the sign, but how is it different from some of the ads the LDS runs "another gospel of Jesus Christ"? Christians are told to "speak the truth in love" and while the sign was a little blunt, it was the title of the Sunday message and it did not defame. Mormonism would not be Mormonism if it only taught and studied the Bible and not the other writtings it includes. But basic Christianity does not teach the Bible the way the Mormons interpret it with their other writtings. I think that this is an important distiction and should encourage all religions to know exactly what it is their churches believe and where that teaching comes from. "

" PS to kb

Mormon, moroni, kolob do not appear in the Bible either "

" I always find it saddening to the heart when people judge other people in the name of the Lord (Jesus Christ).

I ask those defending the sign in the Wilcox community: Do the Mormons teach things so bad to create a bad human being with bad beliefs? The reason I ask this, is because Jesus Christ in His earthly ministry never once shunned anyone or anything other than sin. What sin are Mormons committing? Do they need to repent of their ways because they don't see the teachings of Jesus Christ the way you do?

If Jesus were here today and were a member of your church (this Baptist church in Wilcox or any other), would he instruct you to badmouth and spread falsehoods about your neighbors?

I will tell you this. My two best friends are not Mormon and I am. They have been a better example to me than most people I've met in my life. They have participated in activities at the 'Mormon' church, just as I have participated with them. I was a groomsmen at their wedding and they at mine. They have shown true love and compassion for the face that we are ALL sons and daughters of God.

The saddest fact of this sign and discussion is that it creates contention. I will tell you right now that contention is of the devil and he is smiling at the fact that this Baptist church is sturring it up in the area.

If you truly want people to follow Christ and his teachings, follow His example. Love one another. Help those in need. Clothe the naked. Care for the sick. And in the end, leave judgement to Almighty God! No one here on this earth will be able to judge anyone else after this life. "

" I don't think the sign was condemning. Jesus did repremand the religious leaders of His time because theyt were trying to make people slaves to the rules that hey made. The Bible tells us that even the best person here on earth is not worthy to be in God's presence. It is through failth in the grace of God, through Jesus sacrifice, that gives us the right to one day live in the presence of God. Not Jesus and Joseph Smith Jr. "