Paul asked this to a Mormon woman who had just unsubscribed:
You are welcome, Melody. Might I ask you why you don’t wish to read these?
Her answer:
They don’t make me feel good.
Paul’s reply:
Hi Melody,
I have wanted to write back to you for some time now. I want to tell you that not feeling good about something does not necessarily mean that the thing itself is not good. I am sure you know this. If people never faced things that did not feel good where would we all be?
I take it you live in North America. How many people had to face and deal with horrible circumstances to create the kind of life you are able to lead today, with so many conveniences?
How about Jesus, the Son of God Himself? How much did He want to be crucified? Nevertheless, if not for His sacrifice we both would not be here today. It is by Him that all things were and are created.
“For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:16-17).
We do preach the cross which Jesus said we must all take up, and by which all things are reconciled to Him. We must all, by the grace of God, lay down our lives to enter into His. That is where we all must go, and sooner or later we must face those things that initially do not make us feel good, but in the end make us feel much better than we ever dreamed or knew possible. That is the promise of God, Who does not lie and Who alone has the power to perform what we cannot.
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful” (Revelation 21:4-5).
Is there more that you wish to say?
Paul
Melody’s response:
I also feel you are confused, and I know the savior would not want us to argue about his doctrine. It is contrary to his teachings to judge another and put them down. For this reason I wish not be involved with your conversations.
Melody
Paul’s reply:
Melody, how do you know what the Savior would want? On what basis do you make this assessment? Apparently you are not even familiar with how He does judge and contend as recorded in Scripture.
“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone. You blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. You blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore you be witnesses unto yourselves, that you are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill you up then the measure of your fathers. You serpents, you generation of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of hell?” (Matthew 23:23-33)
You are also unfamiliar with what His saints do, as recorded by Jude:
“And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him” (Jude 1:14-15).
And again, those who are His give heed to His words:
“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:3-4).
Melody, you are full of unreality. You follow a snake (Joseph Smith) who posed as an angel of light. You follow a liar and scoundrel who, by his very ways and being, denied the Lord Jesus Christ, and you collect wages accordingly. You know nothing of the true Lord Jesus Christ, and have nothing to do with Him. Your claim therefore to be a saint is false, and you are more accountable for making this claim than those who do not. This is why you do not wish to hear what we have to say. It is a call to repentance from your own righteousness and religious works which you think are godly, but which are instead totally unacceptable and repulsive to the Lord.
You do not love judgment because it does not make you feel good. That is not what the saints say or do:
“My soul is breaking for the longing to Your judgments in every season” (Psalm 119:20).
True saints love the light, and come to it:
“And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness more than the Light, for their works were evil. For everyone practicing wickedness hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, that his works may not be exposed. But the one doing the truth comes to the Light, that his works may be revealed, that they exist, having been worked in God” (John 3:19-21).
You are practicing wickedness and hate the light because it exposes you:
“But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever does make manifest is light” (Ephesians 5:13).
You do not know or believe the Scripture that says:
“For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life” (Proverbs 6:23).
Why do you believe Satan the liar who says that God will not presently judge you? Where do you see or find that this is ever the case?
Paul
Victor’s reply:
Melody, you may feel that we are confused, but your confusion is at fault here. We know that you are Mormon, that your doctrines and practices are not in truth, and there are few people who are more confused than “Latter Day Saints.” Is it any wonder, following a false prophet?
Consider the Book of Mormon…nothing verifiable, no historical characters or places, no archaeological evidences, nothing. It is a complete work of fiction, a sham of the first order. Contrast that to the Bible. Yet you will emphasize the Book of Mormon over the Bible. At least most Mormons do. Your husband did so. He quoted it to me, but not the Bible. That is confusion.
I often hear Mormons speak of feelings. That is confusion. Melody, it is not at all about “feeling good.” It is about taking up the cross, denying yourself, dying daily. You people are really into appearances and feelings, as for example your buildings, presentation, and conduct, none of which has anything at all to do with being a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, Whom you profess to represent. We are contending for the true faith once delivered to the real saints. We are not here to make people “feel good.” Jesus said He came “not to bring peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10…in the BIBLE). How good does a sword feel? You Mormons emphasize family unity, yet Jesus spoke those words, saying He came to divide families. The division comes when the Truth is introduced, without fail. How good do family members feel then? You have never experienced that, because you have never known the truth. We preach and write to that end, that you may know the truth, no matter how bad you feel about it.
You people will sooner or later wake up to the fact that you have been deluded. God will have His way with all. In the meantime, we preach the truth, as confusing as it may sound to the confounded.
Victor