Of course, since that time two things have happened that have significantly increased the number.
1) Retired couple and older single individuals are encouraged to serve. There are probably 20,000 of these individuals in these ranks.
2) As stated, the Church lowered the age for young men from 19 to 18 years of age, and for young women from 21 years to 19 years which has also increased the numbers significantly over the last year.
The mission is, and always has been about bringing people to Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of mankind and the Son of the Eternal God, our Father. In addition, the experience is an unbelievably good thing for those youth so involved in terms of teaching them to be away from home, to be able to be disciplined, to be engaged in a very worthwhile activity and to prepare them for life.
Both of my sons served, one in Canada, and the other in France. I am grateful for their service and the impact they had, through the Holy Spirit and Gospel of Jesus Christ on others, and that it had on them. It can never be taken away from them, or anyone else. They would have to give it up themselves.
God bless ALL people sincerely serving to bring anyone on this earth closer to Jesus Christ. I say that sincerely for all Christian faiths who have people out in the world so engaged in the great commission. it is the great balm and healer of individuals and nations.
ALL: This is the "Jesus" that Lds missionaries will attempt to "intro" others to:
To summarize the chart briefly:
The traditional Christ within Christianity is...
...uniquely THE ONLY begotten Son from eternity past, not one of millions of God's pre-existent "sons";
He is uniquely Savior, not one of millions of saviors per Mormondom;
He is uniquely Creator and divine and self-existent from eternity past, not one of MILLIONS of men who are somehow likewise "self-existent" from eternity past;
His blood is uniquely powerful beyond men's commandment-keeping -- lest the promise Jesus made to the thief on the cross become a false prophecy;
His blood is potent enough to cover ALL sins, unlike the Mormon Jesus who leaves men to "make up" for anemic blood via their own "blood atonement."
He absorbed God's wrath vs. the Book of Mormon violent Jesus who took out His wrath upon thousands of residents in alleged 16 Book of Mormon cities! The violent Mormon Jesus sunk, entombed, and otherwise destroyed perhaps up to 90,000 upon His death on the Mormon cross! The Bible knows no such horrific crucifixion aftermath fairy tales...
| Questions Distinguishing 'Mormon' Jesus from Jesus of Bible | Mormon 'Jesus'? | Based upon what Lds 'scripture' | Jesus of Bible? | Relevant Scriptures |
| 1. Was Jesus self-existent from all eternity past? | Lds say NO -- unless Lds want to claim that men also are 'self-existent' from eternity past: "Man was also in the beginning with God." (D&C 93:29); yet they de-emphasize their own "scripture" -- Alma 13:9 in the Book of Mormon, where it reads how Jesus was "the only begotten without beginning of days" | D&C 93:29 vs. Alma 13:9. Note: In Joseph Smith's "Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith," he also elaborated upon a "council of gods" who were before Heavenly Father; and how Heavenly Father himself had a "father" and grandfather. | YES | John 8:58; John 1:1,18; Micah 5:2; Ex. 3:14 |
| 2. Is the title 'firstborn' as applied to Christ NOT linked to being the "elder brother" of you and me as pre-earth spirits, as Mormons interpret it, but rather to the Son of God being the pre-eminent heir and creator of all things? |
NO |
D&C 93:21 -- introduced 1833...not found in Book of Mormon | NO | Col. 1:15-18; Eph. 6:12; Ps. 80:27 |
| 3. Can the 'Creator' be One who was 'created' (as a 'creature')? | YES | "And virtually all the millions of apostate Christendom have abased themselves before the mythical throne of a mythical Christ whom they vainly suppose to be a spirit essence who is incorporeal uncreated, immaterial and three-in-one with the Father and Holy Spirit" (Lds "apostle" Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, pg.269). | NO | Col. 1:16 |
| 4. Was Jesus as Son of God perfect from eternity past? | NO | "Even Christ himself was NOT perfect at first; he received not a fulness at first, but he received grace for grace, and he continued to receive more and more until he received a fulness." (Lds 6th "prophet" Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 1986, p. 68); * "...we have a correct idea of the character of the Son from the writings of the apostles, so far as they learned it. But while he was tabernacling in the flesh, he was more or less contaminated with fallen nature." (Brigham Young, JoD vol. 6, p. 95) | YES | 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:22 |
| 5. Was Jesus always 'divine' from eternity past? | NO | * "Jesus BECAME a God and reached His great state of understanding through consistent effort and continuous obedience to all the Gospel truths and universal laws." (p. 51 Milton Hunter, The Gospel Through the Ages); * "Christ ATTAINED Godhood while yet in pre-existence..." (Lds "apostle" Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 1966, p. 323) | YES | John 17:5; Heb. 1:8 |
| 6. Was Jesus born "at" Bethlehem? | NO (Jerusalem) | Alma 7:10, Book of Mormon | YES | Micah 5:2 prophesy; Matt. 2:1; Luke 2:4,15; John 7:42 |
| 7. Was one of the purposes that Christ came to earth was so that He, Himself could become a "saved being?" | YES | "Christ is a saved being” (Lds "apostle" McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, Vol. 3, p 257); * "Christ's rise to the throne of exaltation was preceded by his descent below all things. Only by submitting to the powers of demons and death and hell could he, in the resurrection, serve as our exemplar of a SAVED BEING...” (McConkie and Millet, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, vol. 1, p. 234) Please also see... * McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, Vol. 3, p. 238 where he said the Mormon "jesus" "Needs salvation...Came to earth to work out His own salvation”) and * McConkie, "The Seven Deadly Heresies,' in Speeches of the Year, 1980 [Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1981] p. 78 where he said: "There was only one perfect being, the Lord Jesus. If men had to be perfect and live all of the law strictly, wholly, and completely, there would be only one saved person in eternity." [cited in Come, Follow Me: Melchizedek Priesthood Personal Study Guide 1983 (1983) p. 72] | NO | 1 John 4:14; John 4:42 (THE Savior, not the saved!) |
| 8. Is Jesus but one 'savior'-'redeemer' among many? | YES and NO (Lds contradicts themselves) | LDS: NO: D&C 76:1, 1832; changed 1834 in D&C 103:9 & expanded to save the dead in 1841-1842 (D&C 124; D&C 128:1-3, 17-18...esp. v. 18); also Lds cite Obadiah 21 in the Old Testament as some sort of "justification" for applying "saviors" (plural) to themselves -- alleged "saviors" of mankind via baptisms for the dead! | NO | "THE Savior" in 1 John 4:14 and John 4:42, not saviors plural; also, in 1 Cor. 15:29 which Mormons have hijacked as their own -- the apostle Paul says "they" -- not "we" -- practiced baptism for the dead; also Obadiah 21 has NOTHING to do with baptizing the dead! |
| 9. Were our sins 'atoned' for in the Garden of Gethesemane? | Lds say YES | Lds misinterpret blood sweat in garden of Gethsemane as Jesus was praying as having "effect of atonement" (see official Lds magazine Ensign, for example: June 2007, p. 15) | NO | Col. 1:20; also Jesus never said "pick up your 'garden' and follow me" but said, "pick up your 'CROSS' and follow me" |
| 10. Was Jesus quite violent at the point of His death? | YES | 3 Nephi 8:8-->3 Nephi 9:12, esp. 8:23; 9:12, Book of Mormon | NO | Jesus became sin (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:24) and became a curse (Gal. 3:13) on behalf of all, absorbing God's wrath on our behalf |
| 11. Did Jesus really die for our personal sins or our rebellious nature? | NOTHING CONCLUSIVE: Lds "scriptures" are all over the map on this one: Mormonism teaches that (a) children have no sin nature & "cannot sin until they begin to become accountable" (D&C 29:47) -- even tho the Lds Pearl of Great Price teaches that children are conceived in sin (Moses 6:55), which "jives" more with Psalm 51:5 and 58:3; (b) yet the Book of Mormon teaches that men have a "carnal and fallen state" and that unless "they become new creatures...unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God." (Mosiah 27:26)...adding in v. 25 & elsewhere in the BoM that they "must be born again"; but apparently that was all past tense in the pre-incarnational years of Jesus Christ, because Joseph Smith taught how Jesus redeemed men from the fall, making men "innocent before God" (D&C 93:38)...so men are "innocent" before God? (Oh, sure, that explains today's world "nicely") | Article of Faith 2: "All men will be punished for own sin." | BOTH | 1 John 1:7-9; Romans 5:8-9 |
| 12. Is Christ's powerful atoning blood diluded to 'anemic' levels? | YES | Even tho a few Mormon "scriptures" emphasize the cleansing power of Christ's blood (see, for example Alma 7:14; D&C 76:41; Moses 6:59), Mormonism roots this in law-keeping (D&C 76:52) | NO | 1 John 1:7; Rev. 1:5; Rev. 5:9; Rev. 7:14; Heb. 13:12; Heb. 10:19; Eph. 1:7; Rom. 5:9 |
| 13. Is Jesus as unique as the Bible makes Him out to be? | NO | a: D&C 93:29; b: Moses 3:5; 6:36; Abraham 3:22-23, Pearl of Great Price; c: See references in #7; d: Misreading of Obadiah 21, Old Testament; e: Note references to "gods" as if true plural gods existed: D&C 76:58; D&C 121:28; 132:20,32,37; Moses 4:11; Lds also cite Spring 1844 King Follett sermon from Smith as if "revelational" -- how people have to "become gods themselves"; f: D&C 20:19 -- Only being to be worshiped is God, yet Mormons don't regard Jesus as same "being" as Heavenly Father | YES! | John 3:18: The "Only" Begotten Son from eternity, not one "spirit son" begotten in the pre-existence among millions! |
| 14. Can Jesus be prayed to directly? | NO, all Lds prayer is to Heavenly Father, but can be directed through Christ | No Lds "scripture" to back this up; in fact, Lds "scripture" states the opposite! (see 3 Nephi 19:18, 24-26) | YES! | Acts 7:59 |
Hey!
Hadn’t seen you in a while.
How’s life?
“The mission is, and always has been about bringing people to Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of mankind and the Son of the Eternal God, our Father. In addition, the experience is an unbelievably good thing for those youth so involved in terms of teaching them to be away from home, to be able to be disciplined, to be engaged in a very worthwhile activity and to prepare them for life. “
Actually, this has nothing to do with the Biblical Jesus Christ, Redeemer. These cultic missions are about the mormonic Jesus, who is a created spirit being - like everyone else in mormonworld - who later became one of the 4 mormonic Earth Gods.
Spreading falsehood and trapping people in a cult is never “worthwhile activity”.
Mormonism is, at best, a gnostic belief system that uses the name “jesus christ” as a form of trademark violation.
Theologically, it is a polytheistic form of mystical humanism that denies the Eternal Nature of God, and the Truth that He is an Uncreated Being.
Realistically, it is virtually synonymous with a belief system like Scientology with a few spiritual terms overlaid on top like a thin veneer.
If you realize that, then you’ll understand why so few people are ready to accept it.
HMMMmmm...
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Jesus Christ is God’s Son, spiritually and physically. He calls Him Father, He prays to Him. Santorum endorses one-time rival Romney
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