Bound in Heaven? by Jim Robertson

In the 29 years of this ministry, the most common thing I do is to get involved with counseling people. This is especially true with young people or couples. A Christian young adult will start dating a Mormon with the understanding that the Mormon must be Christian because the name on their church has Jesus Christ in it (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). And besides, they're just dating as friends and nothing is serious. However, as time goes by, they begin to be a steady couple and the thought of marriage starts being discussed. The Mormon will finally say that if the relationship is to continue, the Christian needs to become Mormon so they can be married in the Mormon Temple. By now the Mormon knows that the Christian is so emotionally connected to the Mormon that the heart overrules the head and the Christian is hooked.

The Mormon uses Biblical scriptures like Matthew 16:19 to prove they must be married in the temple so they can be married for eternity. (-whatever is bound on earth is bound in heaven-). If the Christian doesn't know the Bible very well, this would appear to be proof of the eternal marriage. However, any Bible, including the older Bible which Mormons used, will cross reference this verse to John 20:23. Here we see that if one person sins against another and the sinner doesn't repent or the other doesn't forgive, then looking back at Matthew 16:19 we see that the sin and the unforgiveness are "bound on earth" and will have to be answered to by both parties in heaven. However, if the sin is forgiven and the other party repents, then the sin is "loosed on earth" or doesn't exist any longer and God has forgiven both parties. So Matthew 16:19 is not talking about eternal marriage, it's talking about the forgiveness of sin.

In fact, if we go to Matthew 22:29-30, Mark 12:24-25 and Luke 20:34-36 we see that Jesus Himself said after this life there is no marriage; we shall all be as the angels in heaven. (Note: We don't become angels, but we become like the angels in heaven.)

Sometimes I hear the couple say the Christian will continue to go to their Christian church and the Mormon will go to their Mormon church. This may work for a while until they start having children. Then the fights begin as they argue about which religion to raise the kids in; Mormon or Christian. In many of these cases I'm asked to get involved. If both parties are firm in their beliefs and refuse to change, I see many of these resulting in divorce. The Mormon usually initiates this because he/she believes they must be married in the temple for eternity in order to go to the highest heaven, or the Celestial Kingdom. The Mormon man wants to go to the highest heaven which is the only way he can become a god to rule over his own planet. The Mormon woman wants this because she desires to become a goddess or a queen to her husband.

The concept of being married for eternity to the one you love is a very attractive idea to the individuals who are allowing their heart to overrule their head. The concept is a wonderful idea, but it's not what God had in mind. He only meant for this to be a practice here on earth, but he has a more beautiful plan for us in heaven.

Young adults are easily deceived because they believe the Bible is the word of God, but they don't know what it says. The Mormons prey on people like this. We need to start at an early age teaching our children what the Bible says so when deception like this comes along they will see it for what it really is: a deception from the Devil himself.

Christians contemplating dating or marriage to a Mormon need to be aware of the warning from God in 2 Cor.6:14 where Paul says, "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?" The interesting thing about this whole situation is, Mormons today claim to be Christians. Until 1971 Judy and I, as Mormons, were taught that when asked if we were Christians, we were instructed to say, "no, we're not Christian, we're Mormon." We were taught Christianity was hatched in hell (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, pg.176). John Taylor, in Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, pg 167 said, "We talk about Christianity, but it is a perfect pack of nonsense and the Devil could not invent a better engine to spread his work than the Christianity of the 19th century." So this deception continues today!!!

The conclusion of all this is, the Christian , in his or her decision to date or marry a Mormon is setting him or herself up for a big fall. The Mormon, however wonderful he or she may be, is planning a temple marriage contrary to what the Christian understands. The decisions we make today determine our destiny.

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