Mormon Missionaries Want You To Pray
About The Book Of Mormon For a Burning In The Bosom
Should you pray about the Book of Mormon? That is an important issue that will come up if you have ever dialoged with or witnessed to a Mormon. If you have, it usually isn’t too long before they want you to pray about the Book of Mormon and for the testimony of the Holy Spirit. They refer us to a passage in the Book of Mormon which is Moroni 10:4:
Moroni 10:4
"And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost."
Sometimes the Mormon missionaries will supplement Moroni 10:4 with a Doc. & Cov.9:8, which says:
Doctrine and Covenants 9:8
"But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right."
Again, Mormon missionaries will use that Moroni passage from
the Book of Mormon to try to get the potential convert to pray about
the Book of Mormon. Doesn’t
praying about something, including the Book of Mormon, sound good? It seems on the surface to be a completely safe thing to do, but is it really, or can the innocent be
misled by such? The Mormons often say something similar to this email from a Latter Day Saint:
It is truly amazing what a loving God will reveal to those who humble themselves and ask with a sincere heart and real intent!
Please note they like to use the word
sincere, which is their cop out before those who dangerously and wrongfully
pray about the Book of Mormon, but experience nothing, that is,
they receive no so-called burning in the bosom and testimony of the Holy Spirit. The implication is
you weren’t really sincere. If you were, you would have received this (supposed)
testimony of the Holy Spirit.
Is The Testimony of the Holy Spirit (Burning In The Bosom) In The Bible
Sometimes the Mormons will also misuse Bible passages for confirmation about praying to see if you get that special
burning in the bosom (or witness of the Holy Spirit)
And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he [Jesus] explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:27-32)
As one Mormon wrote regarding that passage:
Are you familiar with Luke 24:27-32? As Christ expounds the scriptures concerning himself, the Holy Spirit testifies of the truths He is speaking.
Did you notice the differences between what the Mormon suggested about
evidence for the Book of Mormon from that passage and what the disciples experienced, as cited in Luke 24:27-32? Please note the following: (1) They were already in the true faith before getting that
burning; (2) The disciples didn't
pray about anything before getting that
burning, not one thing, (3) The
burning came after Jesus taught about himself from the Old Testament (Moses and all the Prophets).
Hence, there absolutely is no connection between Lk. 24:27-32 and praying about the book of mormon -- the LDS Scripture associated with a Bible-defined false prophet (Joseph Smith).
The Mormon Challenge To Pray About The Book of Mormon
The same Mormon followed up with this
Mormon challenge:
Again, I challenge you. Are you affraid [sic] that God will answer you [sic] prayers and that you will have to change you [sic] thinking to His. His thoughts and words are higher than ours you know. ...he [the devil] can not duplicate the peace and joy that come from a witness from the Holy Spirit—from God. Throughout the Scriptures, when someone had an experience with God, there was NO ROOM FOR MISINTERPRETATION. Ask! Seek! Knock! I challenge you (Capital emphasis his).
They will try to apply the pressure, such as revealed there! Get ready for it.
A Christian Should Respond to the Mormon Challenge With These Questions
How should a Christian respond to the Mormon challenge to pray about evidence for the Book of Mormon and the testimony of the Holy Spirit? You can ask them the following questions: (a) Have you ever prayed about the Koran, the Jehovah’s
Witness Bible or Avesta? (b) Have you prayed about bowing before a Mary statue or reciting the
rosary?
(c) Should you pray about robbing a bank and giving the money to the poor?
The obvious answer is, there is no need to pray about anything that is not Biblical and is outside of God’s will, including all of those. Because these things are unbiblical, if God would answer that prayer, it would always be in accord with His written word. But to ask God in prayer something he has already spoken about can be
testing God, which is also forbidden.
Remember also that Paul never asked any potential converts to
pray about his message. What he taught was found in the Scriptures and they could verify it and join the group of
wise people, if they would
repent and submissively place their faith in Jesus Christ to follow him. See Acts 17:11,12 cf. Acts 20:21; etc.
Again, be on your guard. To pray about something like the Book of Mormon (the LDS Bible) or bowing before a Mary statue can allow the
devil to give you an
experience that will deceive you. A
burning in the bosom from such would not be
the testimony of the Holy Spirit, as the Latter Day Saint people like to say/think.
This is very important to remember and tell others about.
One of my family members prayed about the Jehovah's Witnesses and got
a burning in the bosom about that false religion. Is God giving the burning in the bosom experience to the Mormons and people who pray about the Jehovah’s Witnesses too? It would be impossible because these two beliefs are poles apart from each other. (These facts would also be good to share with the Mormon missionaries when they get emphatic about you praying about the Book of Mormon.) Do you remember what the aforementioned Mormon wrote about
peace and joy from the Holy Spirit? In part he wrote:
... he [the devil] can not duplicate the peace and joy that come from a witness from the Holy Spirit from God.
Is The Devil Deceiving People About LDS Scripture
Again the Mormons, like many others, are wrong about this.
Yes, the devil can duplicate peace. That is what he does in transcendental meditation (TM) and also in
Catholicism after one receives the
Eucharist. The devil uses these and other experiences to deceive. Please remember this:
Any experience, testimony, dream,
vision, prophecy, teaching, etc. that is supposed to be from God but doesn’t align itself with the
Bible is
not from God at all. The devil can and has used all of the above.
Go by the Bible alone and be safe. 2 Tim. 3:16,17 tells us that the man of God (Christian) is
thoroughly equipped for every good work with the Scriptures (the Bible) alone. Remember the
Book of Mormon is not
another testament of Jesus Christ, but is counterfeit Scripture similar to the Koran and like the perverted
Jehovah's Witness Bible (
The New World Translation).
Remember
the evidence states the Latter Day Saint church and their LDS Scriptures are not of God.
We, therefore, don’t lack wisdom about the Book of Mormon or Mormonism itself. Remember those truths when
witnessing to Mormons. (So if they mention James 1:5 about
any man lacking wisdom, answer as just cited.) It is not only futile to pray about the Book of Mormon it is also
dangerous, for it can open a person up to a Satanic deception. The devil can give you a
burning in the bosom and has done so to deceive precious souls.
OTHER TOPICS:
Former Roman Catholic
The New Creation In Christ Radical Change
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How You Can Live Forever and Never Die
Pray About Book Of Mormon Cartoon -- pdf
Eternal Security or Conditional Security
Evangelical Outreach Alphabetical Map
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