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So MANY Churches today... is it stating the obvious that they can't ALL be RIGHT?

3/20/2016

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which one did you join?  and why. Does it matter? How would you know?

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    But with what, 41,000 different Christian denominations in the world today* it is hard to take seriously the idea that they could ALL be right and approved before the Lord.  It's just not possible. Why, you may say?  Let me explain this inarguable fact using the Bible text alone to prove the point.  

If our choice of religion has only to do with tradition, or which family we were born into, then we need to consider what Jesus Christ said about this. He said:
Matthew 10:3535 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

36 And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.


37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

It starts with Jesus Christ's life and ministry. It starts with the Biblical record of how Jesus was born of a the virgin Mary, the Bible establishes Him literally as the SON of GOD and not just another human being fathered by another human being.  He was special.  What he said and taught was special, even the final word.  His father was THE Father, Heavenly Father an exalted being.  Jesus was different, and He was set apart as the Savior of all mankind even at his birth which was spoken of by Simeon;  
          LUKE 2:28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
               29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
               30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
               31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;


The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are God.  Jesus was a member of the Godhead, and He was on the earth in the meridian of time about 2,000 years ago.  He was the great Mediator, the great Teacher and giver of doctrines of salvation.

This Savior of the World started a Church then, HIS Church. He called Apostles, 12 of them and gave them charge to "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."  (Mark 16:15)


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Jesus spoke unfavorably of the existing religious establishment, indicating his disapproval of them, and he called them out as servants of satan and called the devil their father, whom they served.  
​
Matthew 23:29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
Matthew 23:
13 ¶But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
Matthew 23:14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
Matthew 23:
15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
Need further proof than this that not all who say they are a church of God, actually are?  Obviously there are imposters in the world. How can we tell, like Jesus told it, which one is the true Church of Jesus Christ, because it is obvious that they are not the same.  It matters.  These Scribes and Pharisees in the Sanhedrin, standing condemned in their wickedness and leading people astray from the true path that God intended are a good example of the proof that Priestcrafts** exist.  This problem exists today as well. There is only ONE true church on the face of the earth. How could it be any different?

*According to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity (CSGC) at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, there are approximately 41,000 Christian denominations and organizations in the world.
**PRIESTCRAFT:   2 Nephi 26:29 He commandeth that there shall be no priestcrafts;  for, behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion.
The Book of Mormon has a magnificent revelation in it, given to Nephi the prophet, approximately 600 years before the coming of Christ in the flesh to the City of Jerusalem (Nazareth).  Nephi was seeing the beginning and the end of the world, and all events in between including the birth of Jesus Christ, the Apostles, etc.  He was told that there are only TWO churches in the world.  This is what the Holy Ghost (the Spirit of God) told him personally in this vision:

First NEPHI 14 (https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/14?lang=eng)

5 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, Nephi, saying: Thou hast beheld that if the Gentiles repent it shall be well with them;

 9 And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look, and behold that great and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations, whose founder is the devil.
 10 And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.
 11 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.
 12 And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few, because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw.
 13 And it came to pass that I beheld that the great mother of abominations did gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God.
 14 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with thepower of God in great glory.
Now I know this is not "politically correct" to point out the truth of this, because most won't receive it as such, but it is true.  To me, it is extremely clear that there is only one Church of Jesus Christ on the earth today.  There is no way in all the world that 41,000 different denominations can all be true and equal to each other. They are not. In fact, they conflict in very significant ways and even teach different things.  Many don't even have the most common thing in common, that is, that Jesus Christ was the Son of God.  The Jehovah's Witnesses for instance, believe him to be just a prophet, just an example.  They believe in JEHOVAH as God, not Jesus.  The Catholics have 216 "Cardinals" but don't have 12 Apostles as in the original church of Jesus Christ.  Jesus did not start these 41,000 denominations. Men did.  

     Jesus started only one, and that same organization that existed in the first church that Jesus started where He called 12 Apostles, exists today through a complete ministering of angels Restoration.   The  prophet Joseph Smith was called by Jesus Christ and God the Father in a vision when he was 14 years old, and a few years later when Joseph was 21 he was instructed to officially form the Church of Jesus Christ, eventually with a Quorum of 12 Apostles, men who are also prophets, seers, and revelators.  ​Today (2016) the following men have been called of God to be Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ:
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https://www.lds.org/prophets-and-apostles/meet-todays-prophets-and-apostles?lang=eng

Just like in the days of Jesus Christ, there were good people who were involved in the false churches of His day, led by the Scribes and Pharisees who were entrenched in their Priestcraft, so this exists today as well.  When I was young, a teenager, my friend and I were driving around in some very nice neighborhoods in a mountainous area and saw a most beautiful piece of property with a magnificent home/mansion on it.  We drove up the nice long winding driveway and also saw a premier coach motorhome.  We knocked on the door to meet the person who lived there and tell them we admired their beautiful home.  We asked him what he did, and he told us he was a preacher/pastor at a church of Christ denomination.  I have thought since how much money that man earned by virtue of his being paid to minister. A paid ministry.  Their congregations give money and the priests of these paid ministries get a salary and benefits, and in so many cases they have enriched themselves with the huge intake of money that does not find its way to the poor often enough.  It is personally used, as I have personally seen.

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints there is no paid clergy, no paid ministry, and certainly nobody is living in any luxurious homes paid for by the Church which they can call their own. No, there are some few living quarters and church office buildings (protected areas for obvious reasons in today's world) and temples all over the world, etc., but the Apostles and Prophets do not own these!  They are stewards over these and thousands of other facilities, but have no personal wealth in them, no personal financial stake.  We all use them and benefit from them as members of the Church of Jesus Christ.  I for instance, can go to one of the temples of God and worship there, without cost, without any status different from any other member of the Church no matter what leadership position they may have.  In the temples, all are equal, and nobody except Jesus Christ Himself owns that temple. It is paid for by the tithes of the members of the Church.  
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