The LDS church released a gospel topics essay on Masonry... and the eerily suspicious overlap of Masonic rituals and symbols with the Mormon temple. Then they removed it from their Gospel Topics section. Let's talk about that.

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In 2013 the Mormon church released a series of four essays on polygamy (they call it "plural marriage") to try to explain away some of the more difficult episodes in their brief history. For many LDS members, the strategy backfired. Bryan and Bo talk about it.

Find the official gospel topics essays here.

Learn more about Mormonism vs. biblical Christianity at pursueGod.org/mormonism.

Today Jason and Lacie Doman share their story. At 19, Jason went to London to tell people about Mormonism. After he came home, he struggled to maintain his LDS faith. Until one day he attended a Christian church and heard a life-changing truth: Jesus is God. Suddenly everything made sense, and he went all-in for biblical Christianity. Now he's the youth pastor of one of the largest churches in Utah.

Mormons believe in the doctrine of "exaltation"- that worthy Mormons can become gods of their own planets some day. They believe God was once like us, and we can someday become like him. Let's unpack that heresy.

The Unveiling Mormonism podcast pulls back the curtain on Mormon history, culture and doctrine. Join us for new episodes every Monday.

Find resources to talk about these episodes at pursueGOD.org/mormonism.

Help others go "full circle" as a follower of Jesus through our 12-week Pursuit series.

Click here to learn more about how to use these resources at home, with a small group, or in a one-on-one discipleship relationship.

Got questions or want to leave a note? Email us at [email protected].

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The LDS Gospel Topics Essays claim that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon and the Book of Abraham "by the gift and power of God". But upon further review, it seems something sketchy might have been afoot.

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Today we start a new series on the LDS Church's "Gospel Topics Essays" released in 2013. These essays were written by Mormon experts in an attempt to explain away some of the difficult questions coming against the Church. In this first episode we explore the essay titled "Are Mormons Christians?"

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So you're leaving Mormonism and you're feeling burned by the institutional church. It's tempting to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Don't do it! Here's how to find a good Christian church.

Next steps:

1. Find a Christ-centered, Bible-based evangelical church.
2. Connect to a mentor or small group.
3. Go through The Pursuit together.

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Your leaving Mormonism and you've dealt with the emotions and your questions. Now you've gotta tell your family. How do you do that without burning bridges? Bo and KD share their insights.

1. Why leave in the first place? 
2. The Mormon Church has a great community, positive upbringing (for the most part), and a belief in eternal families… so why leave? 
3. We talked the past two weeks about the emotions and questions that come up when you realize what you’ve believed in or were raised in turned out to be false… 
4. To find and gain a relationship with Jesus, the biblical Jesus.
5. Luke 14:26
6. Love Jesus above all else… even family 
7. How to approach the conversation
8. Explaining your perspective
9. Explaining why you’re leaving
10. It’s important to call out what you no longer believe, but even more important to point out what you do believe in moving forward
11. Most family members will still want to respect your beliefs and support you 
12. Some won’t… simple as that. 
13. Emotions will run high, so try to remain level
14. Leave room for your family’s emotions as well as your own
15. Keep it simple and straightforward
16. 
    
17. How to handle the aftermath
18. You’ll likely be faced with plenty of questions / rebuttals 
19. Mormons are Christians too, why leave to find Jesus? 
20. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater…
21. Covenants
22. Man can make mistakes (ie. Joseph Smith) 
23. Book of Mormon
24. Mormon Gospel
25. What about Eternal Families? 
26. What about the spiritual experiences you’ve had? 
27. What next? 
28. You’ve left the Mormon Church… NOW WHAT? 
29. Isaiah 41:10
30. “Don’t be afraid for I am with you”

Today we talk again with Bo and KD, two former Mormons who are leaving the LDS church and trying to do it right. We go over their insights around some of the major doctrinal differences between the Mormon church and biblical Christianity.

• Bible
• “As far as it is translated correctly…”
• Mormons lack trust in the Bible
• Joseph claimed that plain and precious truths were corrupted over time by translators (1 Nephi 13:26-29)
• “Precious things taken away from the book, which is the book of the Lamb of God.” 
• “Because of these things which are taken away out of the gospel of the Lamb, an exceedingly great many do stumble”
• Mormons attempt to contrast the Biblical translation process with the Book of Mormon translation process… 
• 5,800+ Greek Manuscripts compiled to translate the Bible
• 300 fulfilled prophecies in Jesus
• 25,000 archeological digs that prove biblical history
• BoM has 0 evidence 
• 
  
• Jesus
• Jesus of the Mormon Church
• Mormons believe we were all spirit children of Heavenly parents (Father and Mother) and that Jesus is their Elder brother. 
• Jesus is the Son of God
• Jesus is our Savior 
• This is where Mormons get the idea that they are Christians
• It can be pretty offensive to Mormons for others to assert that they aren’t Christian. 
• Biblical Jesus
• Jesus is God and has been from the beginning (John 1:1)
• Point out the JST that changes this verse substantially 
• Jesus created all things in Heaven and in Earth (Col 1:16) 
• The Fullness of the Father dwells in Jesus - Triune Nature of God (Col 1:19)
• Trinity vs Godhead?
• Atoned for our Sins on the Cross (Col 1:20)
• Hebrews 9:11-15
• Jesus’ death was the ultimate sacrifice and marked the end of Levitical sacrifices in the Temple. No more Temples or sacrifices needed.  We have a new covenant with Jesus through His blood.  When we accept Him in Faith we are saved. 
• Ephesians 2:11-17
• Grace
• Ephesians 2:8-9 vs. 2 Nephi 25:23
• Saved by Grace when we believed vs. saved by Grace after all the works we can do 
• How is one saved in Mormonism? 
• 3rd Article of Faith “by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel”
• How does God explain salvation in the Bible? 
• Galatians 2:16, 20-21
• Families
• Mormons believe the purpose of eternal families is to become Gods (D&C 132:19-21) 
• If you are married in the Temple and obey the commandments the rest of your life and do not commit murder, then you will become gods. 
• The Bible teaches (Ephesians 2:19-21)
• We are part of God’s family when we believe in Jesus
• We become God’s temple where His Spirit dwells
• Romans 8:1-17
• We received The Spirit of God when we believed in Jesus and we were adopted as children of God. 
• Romans 8:18-30

Fear, depression, anger, guilt, confusion. These are just a few of the emotions you'll feel when you leave Mormonism. But it's still worth it.