I want to thank you for your many years of serving our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. You came to Rochester, New York in September of 1988. A friend invited me to the crusade and I went three times that week. On Friday evening the 16th, I surrendered my life to Christ at the Crusade and have been serving Him since. A short time after I was saved, a couple of Jehovah’s Witness ladies came to my door and challenged my new faith. That incident led me to become a missionary to Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons. My wife and I founded Evidence Ministries in 1992 and I have been a full-time missionary to these two cults since 1999.
This morning I read an online article which stated that you endorsed Mitt Romney, and then your ministry took down some information from your web site which describes Mormonism as a cult. The article can be read here.
I am writing because I wanted to get your side of the story and make an appeal to you. I understand the hesitancy of Christians to vote for a Mormon and I also understand why Christians would like to see him become the next President of the United States. What I do not understand is why a ministry would take down information which correctly identifies Mormonism as a cult.
I believe it is possible to be a Christian, understand that Mormonism is a cult, yet still in good conscience vote for Mitt Romney. Mr. Graham, I believe this is what you are doing. Please, correct me if I am wrong, but I also believe that the reason the critical information about Mormonism was taken off of your site is because you do not want to dissuade Christians from voting for Romney, even though he is a cult member. This is problematic for a number of reasons.
First and foremost, it sends a message that Christians must focus on perceived threats to their earthly kingdom more so than on threats to the Kingdom of God. Let’s face it. Many Christians believe that a second Obama Presidency could destroy the Constitution of this great nation. I have even had misguided Christians tell me that if we don’t vote for Romney, we will not be able to preach the gospel because it will become illegal. It has never occurred to them that a significant portion of our New Testament was written by a prisoner named Paul who was imprisoned precisely because he refused to stop preaching the gospel.
Some Christians are so fearful of Obama that they have allowed themselves to be fooled into thinking that our votes alone will be responsible for placing the president of their liking into the Whitehouse. They have forgotten that God told us in Romans 13:1-7 that He is the one who establishes governing authorities. I believe that as Christians we have a responsibility to vote for the person who best represents and will protect Godly values, but at the same time, I am not overlooking the fact that God alone is in control of the results of this election.
I can’t help but wonder if you have forgotten that. What other reason would you have for taking down information that is critical of Mormonism right after you endorsed Mitt Romney? Are you afraid that you may sway someone not to vote for Romney because he belongs to a pseudo-Christian cult? I don’t know if this is true of you (thus my purpose for writing), but I do know that many Christians are so fearful of a second term for Obama that they are willing to ignore the spiritual dangers of Mormonism.
A friend of mine visited a Family Christian bookstore after Church this past Sunday. He noticed that all of the books about Mormonism had been removed from the comparative religions section even though books on the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Scientology and Islam were still there. When he asked a clerk about the books on Mormonism, he was informed that they had been removed until the election. My friend asked what was going to happen if Romney is elected. He was told that if Romney won, the books would most likely not be returned to the shelves.
The policy of this book store may seem absurd, but I do not see much difference between what they did and what has been done to your web site. Are Christians now going to give Mormonism legitimacy for the sake of their patriotism? Which dangers should concern Christians more, temporal or spiritual dangers? I can’t help but wonder which is more important to Christians who make policies like this, their country or the souls of men? Given your many years of preaching the gospel, I pray that you are not led astray like these other Christians who have allowed their patriotism to become an idol worshiped in Jesus’ name.
If you believe that God is leading you to endorse Mitt Romney for President, then by all means do so, Just, please do not indirectly endorse Mormonism in the process. I humbly ask that you put the critical information about Mormonism back on your web site. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is very adept at fooling people into thinking that Mormonism is a legitimate expression of Christianity. They do not need your assistance.
Respectfully,
Keith Walker
President, Evidence Ministries
(used with the permission of the author whose original version of this letter can be found here)
(text from “The Valley of Vision” devotional)
Beggar's Bread 