Update on Jim’s Recent Hospitalization
For all of you who were not aware of Jim’s recent hospitalization,
this is just a brief report. June 8th Jim was admitted to Banner
Desert Medical Center emergency room with symptoms of a heart
attack. A heart catherization revealed three blocked coronary
arteries but no heart attack.
Jim also had a serious condition in his neck that caused a lack
of function of his right arm. Both conditions were urgent. The
doctors, a cardiologist and a neurosurgeon had major decisions
to make. If the neck surgery, foramenotomy, was not done Jim could
lose most of the use of his right arm. But the blocked arteries
that supply the heart with blood seemed more urgent. We sent out
a request for prayer. We are grateful for so many who prayed for
wisdom.
The decision was made, neck surgery was performed June 11 on
the back of Jim’s neck. This was to relieve pressure on the nerves
that reach the arm. Jim had been in excruciating pain for about
four weeks in his neck and right arm. It wasn’t until he went
into the hospital that we found out the urgency of neck surgery
to relieve the pain and save the function of his arm.
Four days later he had three stints put into the coronary arteries
to open them up so more blood could supply the heart. He was in
intensive care for 5 days for a total of 9 days in the hospital.
Jim is home now and recovering quite well.
We want to thank everyone for the many cards, emails, prayers
and well-wishes from so many of you. What an encouragement you
have all been to us. It was a long haul, and still many days of
recuperation are to come.
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The Book of Mormon: “The Most
Correct[ed] of Any Book on Earth” by Bob Betts
 In
the sixth paragraph of the Introduction to the Book of Mormon,
Joseph Smith said, “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon
was the most correct of any book on earth, and is the keystone
of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding
by its precepts, than by any other book.”
Joseph Smith’s “most correct” pronouncement of the Book of Mormon,
first published in 1830, has long since been challenged. In reality,
there may be no other religious book in history, which has had
as many changes made to it as the Book of Mormon. It could be
the least correct book ever published. The LDS church has told
its members, and the world, that the changes that have been made
in the five succeeding editions are minor punctuation corrections.
Yet, the almost 4,000 changes that Jerald and Sandra Tanner identified
in their book, 3,913 Changes in the Book of Mormon, are words
that were added, deleted, misspelling or grammatically incorrect.
Even the most recent (1981) edition of the Book of Mormon, edited
by a committee headed by members of the Quorum of the Twelve,
included about 150 significant word changes.
These changes should not have been necessary in light of Joseph
Smith’s own testimony in 1829 that, “...we heard a voice from
out of the bright light above us, saying, ‘These plates have been
revealed by the power of God, and they have been translated
by the power of God. The translation of them which you have seen
is correct, and I command you to bear record of what you now
see and hear’” (History of the Church, by Joseph Smith, Vol. 1,
pp. 54-55).
Despite the clearly identifiable changes, one LDS apostle who
would later be the tenth LDS prophet, Joseph Fielding Smith, refuted
the facts by declaring that, "...enemies of the Church...have
made the statement that there have been one or two or more thousand
changes in the Book of Mormon since the first edition was published.
Well, of course, there is no truth in that statement" (The Improvement
Era, December, 1961, p. 924).
SAMPLE CHANGES
The 1830 text of 1 Nephi 12:18 read, "...yea, even the word of
the justice of the Eternal God, and Jesus Christ, which is the
Lamb of God..." However, the name of Jesus Christ had not been
revealed to the Nephites until 2 Nephi 10:3, "Wherefore, as I
said unto you, it must needs be expedient that Christ--for in
the last night the angel spake unto me that this should be his
name--should come among the Jews..." Therefore, Joseph removed
the name of Jesus Christ from 1 Nephi 12:18 and inserted Messiah
instead.
The 1830 text of 1 Nephi 20:1 read, "Hearken and hear this,
O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and
are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the
name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel; yet they
swear not in truth, nor righteousness." Ten years later, in the
1840 edition, Joseph added the ordinance of water baptism to the
text, "Hearken and hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called
by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of
Judah, or out of the waters of baptism, who swear by the
name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, yet they
swear not in truth nor in righteousness."
HOW CORRECT IS THE BIBLE?
The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in 1947 in cliff caves 20 miles
east of Jerusalem, leave no doubt about the accuracy of the Old
Testament. But how correct is the New Testament?
The earliest papyrus and animal skin manuscript copies of the
New Testament in the Greek language number at 5, 664. In addition,
there are upwards to 10,000 Latin Vulgate manuscripts and about
8,000 in Ethiopic, Slavic, and Armenian. (The second highest number
of ancient manuscript copies known to man is Homer’s Iliad with
only 650.) With close to 24,000 manuscripts in existence, comparisons
between them have yielded the overwhelming evidence that there
are virtually no differences between them. The manuscripts agree
with one another.
Bible scholars Norman Geisler and William Nix concluded, “The
New Testament, then, has not only survived in more manuscripts
than any other book from antiquity, but it has survived in a purer
form than any other great book – a form that is 99.5 percent pure”
(A General Introduction to the Bible, p. 361). The late Bible
scholar F.F. Bruce concluded, “There is no body of ancient literature
in the world which enjoys such wealth of good textual attestation
as the New Testament” (The Books and the Parchments, p. 178).
BIBLE DESERVES THE TITLE
Since the Book of Mormon has required almost 4,000 changes throughout
its five editions to correct its errors, the Bible is the only
scripture deserving the title, The Most Correct of Any Book on
Earth.
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Confronting Spiritual Counterfeits
by Jim Baugh
 Counterfeiting
United States currency is, and always has been a huge problem
for out nation. For example, in 1989 it was reported that 82%
of $100 bills circulated in Europe were counterfeit! 82%! That
is why the U.S. continues to design and implement changes in our
currency to make it more difficult to counterfeit. Now just the
other day I picked up a little “counterfeit” cash myself! I got
it at a Walgreen’s for $1.99. There were two $1,000,000 bills
in this package. Of course they say in small letters “This note
is non-negotiable, its sole purpose is to promote special events
and good times.” It would take someone a long time to discover
these bills are worthless! For, they do have the style and symbolism
of real cash; however they have no substance. They are worthless.
Anything of value risks being counterfeited. Is the truth of
Christianity really valuable to you? Is it valuable to those yet
without a real relationship with Christ? You better believe it
is. Peter says our redemption was not, nor could it ever be purchased
with silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. The
gospel message is all about that price of our redemption, and
how one can receive it as a free gift through faith in
our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of the value of that message we
can be sure that the enemy will seek to provide a counterfeit
to keep people dissuaded from discovering the real thing.
Every epistle in the New Testament warns believers and exhorts
them to explore counterfeit teachers and teaching. In our article
today, we will look at Titus 1:9-16 to see exactly what God’s
church must do to confront counterfeit Christianity. Verse nine
tells us specifically that church leaders, as well as the individual
believers must be “Holding fast the faithful word as he has been
taught, that he might be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort
and convict those who contradict.” In essence, Paul tells Titus
that there will be those who rise up both inside and outside the
believing church who will oppose the truth, and seek to oppose
the truth through deception. Paul then tells us what to do with
these who peddle false faith.
Their Stories Must Be Stopped.
In verse 10, Paul calls these false teachers “idle talkers” because
they have great oratory skills, but say absolutely nothing of
substance. In fact, it’s even more sinister.
They Delight in Deception. Vs 10-11
“For these are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers,
especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be
stopped, who subvert (that is, they split apart, they destroy)
whole households.” The word household can be rightly applied in
two ways. Sometimes a local church is called a “household” in
the New Testament. In Philemon 2, Paul writes about the “church
that meets in Philemon’s house.” The word household also speaks
of a family. That’s who false teachers destroy. They destroy church
families, and they destroy families as well. In our age of “tolerance,”
too often churches become tolerant of unbiblical teaching. As
a result, people don’t know how to discern truth from error. Stories
of cults gaining access to local congregations are numerous. I
was talking to a dear woman from Texas just last week about the
aberrant doctrine of the Mormon faith. She said she had an idea
of what Mormons taught, she just knew them to be kind people.
I agreed with her opinions on them being kind, unless you confront
them with God’s truth about the Real Gospel! Regardless,
we must proclaim the truth.
What are the marks of counterfeit Christianity? Let me give
you five:
- it offers “new” revelation apart from the Bible.
- it denies the Bible as the only authority for faith.
- it denies the deity of Jesus Christ.
- it denies salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone
as savior and Lord.
- A counterfeit gospel is always followed by rules and regulations
that must be followed to ever have a hope of heaven. As Bruce
McConkie states in his book “Mormon Doctrine” The LDS church
teaches that salvation is by grace coupled with obedience
to laws and ordinances of the Mormon Gospel. (p. 671)
 False
religions make up their own rules, and statistics. Even when confronted
with the fallacy of their rules, they delight in them anyway.
One evening I had a conversation with a young LDS “elder” that
brought his witnessing trainee to the church. He asked me if I
believed the book of Mormon to be the book of God. I said absolutely
not. He asked me why. I told him I did not believe because of
the so-called prophet who presented it, Joseph Smith. Deuteronomy
18 tells me that if one claims to be a prophet of God, and yet
fails in just one prophesy, he is false and is not to be listened
to. He is to be taken out and stoned to death. Joseph Smith had
more than one failed prophesy; of which stated that the Lord would
return to earth to set up his kingdom in 1891 (History of the
Church, Volume 2, p. 182). Evidently, the Lord Jesus didn’t
get that date on his calendar! I shared numerous failed prophecies
with this Mormon elder. In response the Mormon elder said, “All
right, let’s say Joseph Smith was a false prophet. Do you believe
the book of Mormon to be the word of God?” What’s his point? Even
though Joseph Smith failed the prophet’s test, and proved to be
deceptive, this young elder was willing to delight in the falsehood
he was peddling.
Nevertheless, we must uphold the truth in a gracious, loving
way. Their stories must be stopped and the truth about the person
and work of the Lord Jesus Christ must be told! We are called
to be able to “give an answer” to others about the hope that lies
within us, yet with gentleness and reverence. That’s my prayer
for you and I. Counterfeit Christians must be confronted with
the true claims for Christ. Remember that as you share the word
with others, that it is the most powerful spiritual weapon
there is. God’s word will not return unto itself void. It will
accomplish its intended result. Let’s share it!
Money Matters
Because of the generosity of you, our readers, we have been
able to meet some very practical needs of those who have come
out of Mormonism. Expenses for food, medical, car brakes, house
paint and travel have been met. One family, who came out of Mormonism,
is starting a Concerned Christians affiliate back in their home
state. Thank you to all who contributed.
Summer Slump:
Remember us during these summer months when giving is usually
down for Concerned Christians. We appreciate your extra support,
if God has so blessed you.
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Jim,
I came across a letter you sent my wife and I in 1986. You were
instrumental in bringing my wife and I to Jesus. At the time I
was a naïve “Christian” and my wife was a Mormon. I don’t think
I ever expressed my gratitude for what you did for us. As a matter
of fact I may have said and done things that insulted you. For
a long time I’ve wanted to write you and apologize for the hurtful
things I said. I don’t think I intentionally tried to hurt you
but in my confusion with what I was going through I said things
that were hurtful. At the time I was young and stupid and I didn’t
know what I was saying. Anyway I want you to know that I am very
thankful for your passion for Mormons and how that lead my wife
and myself to Jesus. I will forever be grateful for your contribution.
I hope all is well with you and your family. I am glad to see
that you are still helping Mormons with your ministry. May God
bless you for how you helped me and my wife.
Mechanicsburg, OH
 Dear
Jim & Concerned Christians,
I had e-mailed you about 6 months ago asking for info on how to
write my family’s exit letter from the LDS church. I’m happy to
report that in December we did receive notification that our request
had been granted. My profession of faith in Jesus Christ was actually
made to an LDS bishop. As ironic as it is, it was the most incredible
experience of my life. We currently attend a Bible Church in our
area. Our family has learned more about the Bible in the past
14 months than we ever had as life-long members of the LDS church.
We occasionally suffer at the hands of misinformed family members.
Through faith and prayer we are encouraged. We firmly believe
that we have done the right thing and that is evident when we
see God working in our lives. It has been difficult for our teenage
children. They struggle with finding other believers to “hang
out” with. Please pray for our youth as they are our future and
their peer pressure struggles are great. Keep up the great work
and let us know when you are in Utah again to speak.
Clearfield, UT
Dear Concerned Christians,
I cannot thank you all enough for the work you are doing. Having
two best friends that are Mormon, I know how important it is to
keep working and praying that the truth will set them free.
Mesa, AZ
Concerned Christians,
I have enjoyed receiving The CROSS for a number of years. Have
intended to write sooner. Know your ministry is indeed a blessing
to many who have decided to put their faith in our Savior, Jesus
Christ. I lost a daughter to Mormonism some 25 years ago and have
a hard time believing that she can believe in all the falsehoods.
Pray for her and her family. Enclosed is a small gift toward your
ministry and know your book Out of Mormonism will only open my
eyes more to the disbeliefs of the Mormon church.
Oregon
Dear Concerned Christians,
Thank you for The CROSS. I read it and am blessed to know your
ministry is holding out the truth to people who so badly need
it. Am sending my yearly donation. God bless all of you.
Milan, IL
Dear Concerned Christians
Received your newsletter The CROSS. I always enjoy reading the
whole thing. I’ve been a born again believer since 1973. My wife
showed me the truth about Jesus. My whole family belongs to the
LDS church. We pray for them daily. Enclosed is a check for your
Helps Fund. Keep up the good work.
San Diego, CA
Dear Jim and Judy and Staff
Appreciate The CROSS yet. Need Jim and Judy to know that I helped
a 78 year old lady come from Mormonism. Thanks a million to them
for their patience eight years ago with me. I gave her the tools
Jim gave me. God Makers tapes verse by verse. May God bless your
ministry. Enclosed is $XXX.XX to keep the ministry.
Sturgis, SD
Editor’s Note: the following is from the ex-LDS wife
of an ex-LDS Bishop, whom we had the pleasure of having a part
in discipling for a few months before they moved back to South
Dakota where they were LDS members about a year ago.
 Hi
Guys,
Just a note to let you know what’s happening. We are both working
hard, but I have today off and am gardening with (my son) Skyler.
As we gardened through the weeds to get to the strawberry plants
we stood back and noticed what a good job we had done. There were
so many weeds to get through. It was like a jungle. As we stood
back we noticed that there was one weed that looked like it was
part of the plant, but it was a weed! We had to go between each
plant and hand-pick those weeds. The weed was too close to the
strawberry plant to just use the hoe on it; it would destroy the
plant itself. As I was doing this, I couldn’t believe that we
didn’t see these weeds before, as we were going along! I started
to laugh a little and then something hit me…that our family had
been the strawberry plants and the LDS church was the weed, looking
like a part of the plant; yet, it wasn’t. It looked and blended
right in with the beautiful strawberry plants. This reminded me
of God’s Word in the Bible…how beautiful it is. And then the LDS
Gospel, being like a weed and the LDS people thinking they belong
to and blend right into Christianity. WOW! Thank you God for even
teaching me lessons in the garden! Strawberries and weeds. Chuckle.
Wessinton, S.D.
Dear Judy,
Hello! While I’m only 13 years old, you have helped me so much!
I knew what I was being taught in the Mormon Church was wrong.
But I could not escape it no matter how much I tried I could not.
When I needed to get out so bad something kept pulling me back
in. It always seemed weird to me why the church worked more like
a business than a church. Then it finally occurred to me--we are
a business. The church was a business of Lucifer's, made to make
innocent people, who don’t know what is really going on, lose
their free agency. Everyone is so nosey to make sure you are perfect.
Well I’m tired of trying and pretending. When I really got serious
about leaving the church I got in a huge argument with my parents
and went to stay with my sister for awhile so I could calm down.
My sister had not technically left the church, so people thought,
but I knew better. I knew she was out for good, I just didn’t
know why. Well when I went to stay with her she had a book she
had been reading. And at night after she had finished it I began
to read it. The book was very good and so true. Your book Out
of Mormonism. It touched me so much and it was just so right,
well the parts I’m old enough to know about anyways. I don’t know
about being married in the temple or anything. Your book, which
may I remark was incredible, was my push. It was that thing I
needed to help me leave the church...for good this time. I soon
hope to either attend a non-denominational church with my sister
or a different non - denominational church with my friends until
I make any larger decisions about my religion. Thank you so much
for your book. It saved me....it saved my life...but I’m so scared.
My mom still fights with me to rejoin the church. My family who
is strongly tied into the church don’t seem to talk to me that
much anymore, but my father was the only one who told me no stupid
church was going to tell him he had to shun his daughter for thinking
different. I was miserable in that church. While only 13, I have
been set in depression....and the church never tried to 'save
me' or never knew anything was wrong. I tried to hurt myself.
My friends [not LDS] pulled me out [of depression] and I stopped
attending the church. I got better and now I am leaving the church.
I’m not comfortable with any of the church people I’m not even
comfortable with my [Mormon] family counselor (I had went through
a terrifying ordeal of attempted molestation...gun held to my
head...watching him do the same to my friends and him eventually
shooting himself and had to be put into counseling) and my family
counselor is Mormon and I just don’t like him. I have a gut feeling
and I knew not to trust him from day 1. Now I have other counselors
who I very well do trust. They don’t try to preach to me or tell
me how ashamed they are of me that I would read a Church denouncing
book. Well your book was wonderful and true. If the church is
so true why are they so scared? So thank you again for everything,
but most of all thank you for giving me my life back. I’m happier
now! I just am. I hope you the best in life!
 Hello
Judy;
I just finished reading your book. Without going into too much
detail, I just want to let you know how grateful I am that you
wrote this book. I was raised Mormon. Over the course of the last
24 years, I left the church, went back, left for good and got
into New Age (A Course In Miracles), Buddhism, Wicca, Eastern
meditation, and was searching for God in all of them. Praise the
Lord, he never gave up on me and sent me someone to witness to
me, teach me and bring me to Christ Jesus. Finally, about 3 months
ago I was saved, started going to church at Calvary Chapel – Salt
Lake City, Utah and on April 25th I was baptized. Even after being
away from Mormonism for so long, I was surprised at how many ingrained
Mormon teachings surfaced once I began attending a Christian church.
Initially I felt I was doing something wrong, and I would lose
my salvation and go to hell, when in fact, I now see the opposite
is true. I’m still dealing with the fact that I don’t have to
(in fact cannot) earn my way to heaven. The first day I went to
Church, there was a flyer on the bulletin board announcing a “Mormon
Support Group” for Mormons coming out of Mormonism. Through God,
I am healing from a lot of spiritual abuse. The class at the Church
only lasted 5 weeks. Since then, our support group is trying to
meet once a month during the summer at my home. I am interested
in any pointers you have about how to guide or develop and grow
a support group for the Mormons who are coming out of Mormonism
and those of us who are new Christians (1-2 years). I am ordering
some of the pamphlets you have available, but would be interested
in any advice you have to offer.
Salt Lake City, UT
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