August 2003
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September 11, 2003 Dear Family and Friends, Last month I had an exciting time working with the Emmanuel Faith Community Church College group (from Escondido, CA) for about a week. I really had a wonderful time with this group. I am still very impressed with the way this group of 18 took right to witnessing. They passed out tracts in front of the Salt Lake Temple (some held up my signs and even preached), they did some door to door evangelism around BYU and Cornerstone EV Free in Midvale, and even witnessed to students in the BYU cafeteria. A couple of them are friends with a local LDS woman, and she invited all of us to come over to her place for a barbecue and a time of swimming. She and her family didn't want to talk doctrine there, but she has been witnessed to quite a bit by those couple of students from the group. Nonetheless, it was a good time to love on the whole family. While we were witnessing out in front of the Temple, two teenage guys (Brandon and Taylor) approached the college pastor, Dave Ruscetta. They told him that they were LDS, but were having some problems with it. Dave then introduced them to me. It almost seemed like a deja vu experience from last June when I was able to lead Skylar and Ryan to the Lord. Brandon and Taylor were sick of all the legalism in the LDS Church and were being forced to go to church. I then got to share with them how different Christianity really is. I told them that Christ could make them perfect before God right then without any works, and that they could trust Him to continue to make them more like Himself. I also got to explain to them how different the LDS god is to the Christian God. They were agreeing with everything I was saying, so I finally asked them if they'd like to turn their backs on Mormonism and turn to Christ alone. They both looked at each other, and I then told them not to worry about what the other thought; this was between them and God. With that they both said yes and I got to lead them in a prayer to receive Christ. Dave and I went through a time to make sure they knew what they did, and then we prayed for them. I ask you to do the same. It is very difficult for LDS kids who convert when their families generally get rather upset. |
Rob with Emmanuel Faith College Group at BYU
Rob with Matt Shipman |
Later in the month, a local friend let me know about a friend who is staying with him for about a year. He (Matt) came out from Iowa to do ministry out here. We got together to do some ministry in front of the Temple. After we were done, we then proceeded to walk through the Main Street Plaza with our signs. I was videoing the whole time just in case. Security boy saw us and called something in, but then just let us go. No problem. I can totally live with that. I'm really not interested in doing any more ministry on Main Street other than walking through with signs. But now what if we keep walking back and forth with those signs?
Thank you for every prayer said on my behalf, and for every check written on my behalf.
Doing the work of an evangelist (2 Tim. 4:5),
Rob Sivulka
Rob@Mormon Info.org
Mormon Info
****PRAYER LIST****
- For God to move more people to do street ministry downtown
- For Utah churches and individual Christians to support each other's various ministries
- For financial provision
- For the ability to get my rough draft comprehensive done soon
****MAILBAG****
Hi Rob Thanks for the great week up with you. It was stretching and good. I am looking forward to hear what the students have to say this evening as we do a little report on the time there. Many came home charged and excited about sharing their faith. Keep up the great work. ...Matt Swaney just took a job as college pastor and was saying how he would like to take a group up to Salt Lake, either combined with us or on their own. ...Thanks again, Dave
[The following is a transcription of the message left on Sandra Tanner's answering maching on August 11, 2003. In addition to my name and e-mail on my tract, I simply have The Utah Lighthouse Ministry's web site URL listed (www.utlm.org). The tract was left on someone's door while I was doing door to door with the Emmanuel Faith College team in Midvale, UT.]
I just came home and had this tract on my door. It's called "Seven Differences Between Mormonism and Christianity" by Rob Sivulka. I think you'd better call it Seven Differences - Seven Reasons why you guys are damned fools. I don't appreciate this &^%* being left on my doorstep. I have no problem with these differences. I believe in all of them and you people should really do something with your time and energy that can really help some people. You guys are idiots, fools and damned jerks. Go to hell! That's where you'll be!
Dear Rob, Any chance that you might know which house that was? If anything, it's a good sign that people are at least talking openly about how they feel... Thanks again for your time and effort with us. Also say thanks again to Cornerstone Evangelical for their hospitality. Sincerely,
Hi Bro, It was good to see you again at EFCC! ...I loved reading your June newsletter and seeing the photos of you with Ryan and Skylar. There's... REAL praise to God!!! Anyway, hope true fruit comes out of your great labor there in UT. Thanks for helping EFCC as well with the college group coming out. You're in my prayers, bro. ...Take care and may our God continue to work mightily in your ministry and personal life. Psalm 66:16 - "Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what He hath done for my soul."
...Jesus was always there but in what form? Something I can't comprehend? I know he became a man and then had a glorified body but in that sense isn't he still beneath (for lack of a better word) what he had been? Why didn't he or couldn't he return to the form (which was what??) that he was before becoming a man? He'll be in a glorified body like us for eternity?? Congrats on the great work in leading more people to the Lord! :) :)
[I responded:] Jesus had two forms if by "form" you mean "nature" (i.e., something's kind or sort or essence). Here's an aphorism I came up with to explain this particularly to Mormons: Jesus as man, isn't God, but Jesus as God, isn't man. Jesus is God (Jn. 1:1), and Jesus is man (1 Tim. 2:5), but God isn't a man (Hosea 11:9). Is this contradictory? No, simply because there's nothing logically inconsistent about one person having two different natures. Since God is all-powerful, it's no problem for Him to wire to Himself another nature. It would be inconsistent if the Person of the Son simply has one nature and contradictory properties are true of that nature. This would be like saying, "It is raining right now at t1 in SLC" and then saying, "It is not raining right now at t1 in SLC". I have no idea what is trying to be communicated here. So as God, for example, He was eternal. But as man, He was created 2000 years ago. As God, He created all things. But as man, He didn't create all things. As God, He knew everything (Jn. 16:30). But as man, He didn't know all things (e.g., when He didn't know when He'd be returning). As God, He was everywhere. But as man, He was in a particular local at a particular time (cf. Jn. 3:13 KJV for a good statement of this even though it probably wasn't part of the original text). I understand what is trying to be communicated here simply because I'm qualifying two different senses, viz., that of God and that of man. So yes, Jesus will continue to have His man nature throughout eternity as far as I know. And as such, He will continue to have a glorified body of flesh and bones... as a man. Best,R