March 2004
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April 6, 2004 Dear Family and Friends, It is with both sorrow and happiness that I share with you that my dear grandmother (Lenore Monroe Honline) went home to be with the Lord last month on the 10th, just 4 days after we celebrated her 84th birthday. I'll miss "Gma". I remember her volumes of letters, her volumes of prayers, her concern for others, having her and Gpa visit here in Utah and watching me do ministry in front of the Temple, and having her participate in witnessing with me to an LDS gal. She was also quite a good editor when I needed help. She even edited my newsletters for a couple years prior to suffering quite a debilitating stroke a few years ago. And she edited my M.A. thesis on Mormonism back in '89. I remember how one of my roommates in seminary received a letter from her, and he said that she was an "outstanding woman". She was truly outstanding, quite simply because she loved to involve herself in others' lives in thoughtful little ways. I am comforted to know that she's with the Lord without any pain, and she's without any sin or its effects. She's become a perfected prayer warrior who still has a part to play in making me more like Christ. She had a good prolonged life and death so she could make final arrangements and say goodbye. And I know that I'll be with her sooner than I'm aware.
The day after her birthday, I
was able to go see Ravi Zacharias speak at Robert Schuller's Crystal
Cathedral. Ravi is a top Evangelical apologist. I met him afterwards
with a buddy of mine from Biola University (Jordan Barrett), and Ravi
told me about a D.Phil. program in Christian Apologetics he's planning
on opening up at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University in about 2 to 3
years. I studied in Oxford the summer of '93, and I have always thought
and prayed about going back there for one last degree. Only God knows,
but I'd still appreciate your prayers in this regard. |
Lenore Monroe Honline |
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I arrived back in Utah to find increased hostility to the gospel going out. One morning when I was out in front of the Temple, some guy came by, and after I asked him if he wanted a tract, he spit on me (actually, I think it all went on the sign I was holding). Then while I was ministering in front of a nearby high school, I was sprayed with a water rifle. And while I was walking home, I was dowsed with water from an SUV. It actually felt pretty good, since it was near 80 degrees that day. As I was in California, I woke up from a dream one day in which I was witnessing at a high school, and I felt totally impressed to start doing more ministry at these places. And I sure did have a fantastic time in front of this high school; I plan on doing more ministry there and other high schools. While I was at this one high school, I got out a ton of tracts, advertised a couple web sites (JosephLied.com and MormonInfo.org) on a very busy intersection, and got into a lot of good conversations. One in particular was with a Baptist girl, who appeared to be getting sucked in to the LDS Church. She was very receptive to what I had to say. |
Rob with his brother Steve and grandparents |
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Ravi Zacharias, Rob, and Jordan Barrett |
****PRAYER LIST****
1. For more salvations
2. For God to move more people to do street ministry downtown
3. For Utah churches and individual Christians to support each other's various ministries
4. For financial provision
5. For the ability to get my rough draft comprehensive done soon
6. For God to use my web site
7. For the article I wrote on evangelistic approaches to Mormons to be published
8. For love, protection, and wisdom as I minister
9. For continued family peace, especially for Grandpa, with the loss of Grandma
****MAILBAG****
Hello Rob,
Thank heaven for the person who advertises your website on the streets of Salt Lake City because that is how I found you. I appreciate very much the efforts that you have put forth to plainly reveal to the world the fact that Mormonism is DEFINATELY NOT "traditional Christianity". With the help of your website I have now gained an absolute assurance of this truth. Your 7 point essay on the differences between Mormonism and traditional Christianity is awesome! It PROVES that they are two completely separate worlds.
But now I need more help. Just because Mormonism is different than traditional Christianity doesn't necessarily prove that Mormonism is false. That is merely an assumption. But at least an awareness of those differences has led me to wonder about it. I was raised in the LDS church and have been a devout (active) Mormon my entire life. Through the years of countless hours of donated time, money, service and being taught the NECESSITY of my personal responsibility to God (personal righteousness and personal morality), I have just about reached a snapping point. A human being can only take so much! So after all these years of devout Mormonism, I am now beginning to wonder if God would actually approve of my leaving Mormonism and settling for a "less-strenuous" system of worship. If so then I would certainly be foolish to remain in Mormonism, right? Thus, I am EXTREMELY interested in giving "traditional Christianity" a shot. I'm ready and willing to investigate the path that you! would guide me in. If I can somehow gain (with your help) an assurance that traditional Christianity is what God really wants me to embrace then I will make the transition in a heartbeat!
I am now officially an "investigator" (a Mormon term for one who is sincerely exploring the claims/truth of Mormonism). Except, of course, I am exploring the claims/truth of what lies OUTSIDE of Mormonism - the new world of "traditional" Christianity. The problem is that the Bible is very contradictory and confusing in many places. So outside of Mormonism, I would be left with several important, unanswered questions regarding the will of God for me. So I need a God approved teacher who is willing to address my questions about God, the Bible, and traditional Christianity. I need a God approved teacher to guide me in the way of truth and salvation. I consider this a critical matter. Are you willing to help me?
If you are willing to help me then I might as well begin with my first question: How can I be sure that you are a "God approved" teacher of the gospel? How is your "calling from God" more legitimate than, say, the "calling" of my own mother who has taught me the "gospel" my whole life? ie. Why should I believe your teachings which will be opposed to the teachings of my very own mother? (She loves God and the Bible too) If Mormonism really IS true, then I certainly don't want to put money into traditional Christianity which, according to Mormonism, is a path to an "incomplete" salvation. Can you see my concern? I will anxiously await your reply because I have several other questions to ask you. I know that you probably are a busy man but I consider my eternal salvation a most critical matter. Hopefully you do also.
Your friend,
P.S. I have great confidence in your ability to resolve my religious concerns. I have examined the credentials that you have listed on your website and find them very impressive. Four collegiate degrees in Biblical / Theological / Philisophical areas plus current doctoral studies in Philosophy is amazing! I guarantee that you won't find many Mormon Bishops with such a solid theological background.
[I responded:] Thanks a lot for your note. I was the guy you saw advertising my web site in downtown SLC. I'm glad you found my site helpful. I just got it up the end of November, and there's still a lot more work to do with it.
You made a great point that just because the two religions are different it is a separate issue as to which one is true... and which one is false (or perhaps both are). But that's why I wrote my Christian response in which I tried to prove why "traditional Christianity" is biblical, and Mormonism isn't. I'm assuming that since Mormons affirm that the Bible is the Word of God, they would automatically be interested in what the Bible says to determine truth. Now I know that they've been programmed to doubt the Bible, and that's why it might be a good thing for me to have another write-up on my site regarding the reliability of the Bible. We can go this route if you want, and if so I'd suggest getting a few books--1. Josh McDowell's, "The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict", 2. F. F. Bruce, "The New Testament Documents, Are They Reliable?", and 3. Lee Strobel's "The Case for Christ" (and perhaps his "The Case for Faith"). I grant there are *apparent* contradictions in the Bible, but since I believe on the basis of good reasons that the Bible really is God's word, then God can't contradict Himself. The problem is with us. And I'm totally willing to try making sense of those confusing and "apparently" contradictory biblical passages for you.
But I'm also willing to go the scientific and philosophical route to demonstrate why classical theism (which traditional Christianity is a part of) is true and that would entail that Mormonism would be false (cf. Paul Copan and William Lane Craig's chapter on "Creatio Ex Nihilo" in "The New Mormon Challenge"). And I'm also willing to discuss why Mormonism is false on the basis of history (e.g., check out Mike Norton's very impressive and informative testimony).
I'm also willing to deal with this existentially and affirm your experience of the impossibility of measuring up to God's law, since there's no way we can meet the requirement of perfection (cf. my buddy's site: perfectrighteousness.com). I understand your feelings here. But this is what makes the "good news" of Christianity so different from religion. Religion places an external standard on people in order to be worthy before God. Christianity, on the other hand, is a relationship with God in which He comes into one's life by simple faith in turning from self, and then allowing God to perform His internal work that manifests itself on the external. The primary purpose of the law is to drive us to Christ for mercy in realizing how *unholy* we really are.
I'm not quite sure how I can give you certainty on anything, let alone on how I'm "God-approved". You'll just have to trust God to be your teacher, and learn from whatever and whoever He sends your way. If what I say makes sense, then thank God for some light.
Your bro,R