Mormon Redeeming Grace

Mormon Redeeming Grace
Author: John Draney
Publisher:
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2013-06-21
Genre:
ISBN: 9781482370119

This book is a compilation of posts related to the doctrines of atonement and grace, which posts originate on the Mormon Redeeming Grace blog during the year 2012. Although I have made some editorial refinements and certain formatting modifications, what follows materially conforms to the original content. The majority of these posts-critiques, responses, rants-apply the canonical standards set forth in the book Redeeming Grace in the Canon of the Restoration (Amazon CreateSpace and Kindle 2011) to the doctrines of atonement and grace in selected addresses and articles by prominent Latter-day Saints. The remainder-essays, thoughts, explanations of one kind or another-examine these important doctrines. I argue that there is a pervasive yet unperceived significant discrepancy between the doctrines of atonement and grace in the canon of the Restoration and the mainstream teaching, expounding, and explanation of these doctrines (what I term Mormonspeak ) from the pulpit of the Restoration. In other words, the canon and the pulpit are at odds with one another and have been locked in an unacknowledged battle royal for at least the last 40 years, if not longer. What is remarkable is that no one seems to notice. I do. This book begins to document the particulars of the peculiar, unwarranted, and disconcerting struggle between canon and pulpit in the restored church of Christ, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These conspicuous missteps are everywhere, but the moment that we Latter-day Saints begin to see them, they will start to diminish, and then they will disappear altogether, for no one will want to say or write anything that is utterly contrary to the properly understood doctrines of atonement and grace in the canon of the Restoration. What should come as no surprise to anyone is the fact that the canon, the best of the best, will ultimately prevail over the errors from the pulpit. One day the true doctrines of atonement and grace will overcome the deleterious, injurious, and extensive errors of legalism. In that blessed day, I hope that no one is disappointed.

Unveiling Grace

Unveiling Grace
Author: Lynn K. Wilder
Publisher: Zondervan
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2013-08-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0310331137

A gripping story of how an entire family, deeply enmeshed in Mormonism for thirty years, found their way out and found faith in Jesus Christ. For thirty years, Lynn Wilder, once a tenured faculty member at Brigham Young University, and her family lived in, loved, and promoted the Mormon Church. Then their son Micah, serving his Mormon mission in Florida, had a revelation: God knew him personally. God loved him. And the Mormon Church did not offer the true gospel. Micah's conversion to Christ put the family in a tailspin. They wondered, Have we believed the wrong thing for decades? If we leave Mormonism, what does this mean for our safety, jobs, and relationships? Is Christianity all that different from Mormonism anyway? As Lynn tells her story of abandoning the deception of Mormonism to receive God's grace, she gives a rare look into Mormon culture, what it means to grow up Mormon, and why the contrasts between Mormonism and Christianity make all the difference in the world. Whether you are in the Mormon Church, are curious about Mormonism, or simply are looking for a gripping story, Unveiling Grace will strengthen your faith in the true God who loves you no matter what.

Redeeming Grace in the Canon of the Restoration

Redeeming Grace in the Canon of the Restoration
Author: John Draney
Publisher:
Total Pages: 410
Release: 2011-12-26
Genre:
ISBN: 9781468010558

The purpose of this book is to thoroughly contemplate redeeming grace, the power by which the faithful are set on the throne of Christ as he is set on the throne of his Father (Revelation 3:21), and the rest of the family of Adam and Eve are made recipients, to one degree or another, of the gift of salvation. I have little if any interest in so-called enabling grace, the divine help by which Moses leads the children of Israel out of Egypt, or Joseph Smith brings forth new scripture to the world. The latter often seems to be the only variety with which we members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are familiar, but the former far exceeds it in power and permanence, for by redeeming grace the highest, eternal purposes of God are realized in us. Enabling grace helps us do something. Redeeming grace, however, does something to us. Long after the glory of the Exodus and the Restoration fades-manifestations of enabling grace in the time of fallen mortality-the culmination of redeeming grace will endure in the perfection of the once mortal citizens of the heavens. However expert we may become in matters of our pragmatic, practical religion, we must always remember the grace by which we will reign with Christ in eternity, the redeeming grace of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God. For many years now the notions of redeeming grace and the mechanics of the atonement have weighed heavily on my mind. I have gradually become aware of a significant disconnect between the popular apprehension of redeeming grace and what is written-hidden as it were in plain sight-in the canon of the Restoration. This disruptive dissonance is driven by the pervasiveness in the church of varying levels of legalism (the same ailment afflicting ancient practitioners of the law of Moses), the interpretive construct alleging that we enter heaven because of our own obedience to, and compliance with, commandments and covenants (sacred contracts). Through the lens of legalism, the gospel is merely an improved law of Moses, a divine to-do list such that if we "[do] those things [we] shall live by them" (Romans 10:5), obtain through our own effort and exertion the requisite skills and qualities to dwell in the presence of a holy, perfect God, and otherwise personally overcome, with the assistance of our Redeemer (to the extent necessary), all the obstacles preventing us from a joyous reunion with our Heavenly Father. Consequently, my most ambitious goal in this work is to take a figurative wrecking ball to legalism's incomplete, distorted, inconsistent, faulty, and shortsighted appraisals of redeeming grace and the atonement that seem to permeate much of the teaching on these subjects in the church. Whatever the reason for our collective reticence to acknowledge the full reach and effect of the redeeming grace of Jesus, the Savior of the world, let us cast off any and all errors accumulated over the years, disentangle ourselves from the burdensome shackles and inherent blindness of legalism, and behold with new eyes the perfect intercession of the Lord, and the merciful dissemination of its blessings through grace to the fallen family of Adam and Eve. You may scoff at the claim by an unknown like me that many, both in the restored church of Christ and in Christianity at large, miss the mark with regard to grace. You may insist that you will never alter your allegedly mainstream, orthodox appraisal-or denial-of redeeming grace. But if you pay attention to the pages that follow, and ponder the words of the canon of the Restoration contained herein, I promise you, you will do just that.

Starting at the Finish Line

Starting at the Finish Line
Author: John Wallace
Publisher:
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2014-02-25
Genre:
ISBN: 9781683141440

"Starting at the Finish Line" seeks to declare the Good News of the gospel in a way that sounds like "good news" to the Latter-day Saint. It does this by 1) establishing the authority and "correctness" of our modern Bible, 2) explaining how we are saved by the grace of God when we put our full faith and trust in the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ, and in His blood alone, and, 3) exposing the dangers of trying to contribute to our own salvation by adding obedience and good works to the finished work of Christ on the cross. This message, to the devout Latter-day Saint, is overly simplistic and offensive. But to the struggling Mormon or to those who have already left the Mormon faith and find themselves lost in a sea of confusion...music to their ears! God gives eternal life to all those who will but receive it in faith.

Living the Book of Mormon

Living the Book of Mormon
Author: Gaye Strathearn
Publisher: Brigham Young University Press
Total Pages: 312
Release: 2007-01-01
Genre: Book of Mormon
ISBN: 9781590387993

Understanding the Book of Mormon

Understanding the Book of Mormon
Author: Grant Hardy
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2010-04-07
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0199745447

Mark Twain once derided the Book of Mormon as "chloroform in print." Long and complicated, written in the language of the King James version of the Bible, it boggles the minds of many. Yet it is unquestionably one of the most influential books ever written. With over 140 million copies in print, it is a central text of one of the largest and fastest-growing faiths in the world. And, Grant Hardy shows, it's far from the coma-inducing doorstop caricatured by Twain. In Understanding the Book of Mormon, Hardy offers the first comprehensive analysis of the work's narrative structure in its 180 year history. Unlike virtually all other recent world scriptures, the Book of Mormon presents itself as an integrated narrative rather than a series of doctrinal expositions, moral injunctions, or devotional hymns. Hardy takes readers through its characters, events, and ideas, as he explores the story and its messages. He identifies the book's literary techniques, such as characterization, embedded documents, allusions, and parallel narratives. Whether Joseph Smith is regarded as author or translator, it's noteworthy that he never speaks in his own voice; rather, he mediates nearly everything through the narrators Nephi, Mormon, and Moroni. Hardy shows how each has a distinctive voice, and all are woven into an integral whole. As with any scripture, the contending views of the Book of Mormon can seem irreconcilable. For believers, it is an actual historical document, transmitted from ancient America. For nonbelievers, it is the work of a nineteenth-century farmer from upstate New York. Hardy transcends this intractable conflict by offering a literary approach, one appropriate to both history and fiction. Regardless of whether readers are interested in American history, literature, comparative religion, or even salvation, he writes, the book can best be read if we examine the text on its own terms.

Misguided By Mormonism But Redeemed By God's Grace

Misguided By Mormonism But Redeemed By God's Grace
Author: Christina R Darlington
Publisher:
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2019-06-02
Genre:
ISBN: 9781099787812

Have you ever considered sharing your Biblical Christian faith with a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church?Within the past few years, the basic relationship between the Mormon and the Christian has changed forever. For the first time in the history of the Mormon Church, authentic and realistic Mormon doctrine and history are now available to you through the Mormon Church's official website.As director of a ministry to Mormons, I speak from personal experience, and I and our ministry team desire to help guide you in bringing the Mormon people to an accurate knowledge of Mormon doctrine and their church's history of deception so that Mormons can come to know Jesus Christ in simplicity and truth as He is taught in the Bible. Learn how to use the Mormon Church's official website and scriptures to present the differences between Mormonism and Biblical Christianity to your Mormon (LDS) loved-ones.

Passport to Heaven

Passport to Heaven
Author: Micah Wilder
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2021-06-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0736982876

“You have a call, Elder Wilder.” When missionary Micah Wilder set his sights on bringing a Baptist congregation into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he had no idea that he was the one about to be changed. Yet when he finally came to know the God of the Bible, Micah had no choice but to surrender himself—no matter the consequences. For a passionate young Mormon who had grown up in the Church, finding authentic faith meant giving up all he knew: his community, his ambitions, and his place in the world. Yet as Micah struggled to reconcile the teachings of his Church with the truths revealed in the Bible, he awakened to his need for God’s grace. This led him to be summoned to the door of the mission president, terrified but confident in the testimony he knew could cost him everything. Passport to Heaven is a gripping account of Micah’s surprising journey from living as a devoted member of a religion based on human works to embracing the divine mercy and freedom that can only be found in Jesus Christ.