MormonInfo.org

October 25, 2006

Dear Family and Friends,

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you" (Deuteronomy 31:6).

Last month I received an email from a My Space friend I haven't heard from in a while: "hey rob i dunno if you stilll remember me or not...i had talked with you about mormonism and i had turned christian...anyway me and my girlfriend had some questions about mission trips and i needed some info on doing some down there in utah haha. write me back if you get a chance." I remember this guy from about a half a year ago. He was leaning toward Christianity at this point, but still trying to break out of the fog of Mormonism. His note really encouraged me in reaching out to others on My Space. My site there is www.myspace.com/rob_sivulka.

I also was interviewed by the Arlington, TX Presbyterian Church Sunday school class. This church sends a team every June to the Manti, UT Mormon Miracle Pageant, so the team was doing a presentation of what happened during their last trip. They showed a video of me and a couple other friends preaching at the pageant, and then asked me to come up and share a little of what I do and why I minister to LDS the way I do. My ex-Mormon girlfriend Tara's (read her testimony by clicking here) LDS mother accompanied us to this event, but never discussed it with us. (Please pray for her, and the rest of Tara's LDS family.)

For the LDS general conference weekend (September 30th - October 1st), Tara and I stood out in front of a local Dallas ward that was showing the conference via satellite. We advertised MormonInfo.org and Josephlied.com, passed out tracts, and got in some conversations with LDS and non-LDS alike.

I also added an FAQ to MormonInfo.org dealing with the question of prophets for these latter days.

Finally, the Jehovah's Witnesses visited me this past weekend. I told them that I was building a web site called JWinfo.org, since I was concerned about how they were devaluing Jesus. They were totally shocked by this, since they claimed to revere Jesus. I told them the problem was that they treat Jesus as something less than "God over all blessed forever" (Romans 9:5). One of them immediately said that they would come back later to discuss this, but that they were busy in getting their message out and went to the next apartment. The other JW challenged me with the John 14:28 passage where Jesus claimed that the Father was greater than Him. I explained to this JW that Christians have always believed that to be true of Jesus as a man, but this still didn't excuse the fact that He also claimed to be "equal" to God in John 5:18. Then later in the passage Jesus claimed that we were to honor Him "just as" we honor the Father (vs. 23). For Christians, they exalt Jesus above any other thing that can be imagined, since He's the second person of Jehovah. This is the problem with all religions outside of Christianity... they all devalue Jesus.

If you would like a financial part in supporting this ministry, there are basically four means:

1. Become a monthly financial partner. Our primary need is for people who will come alongside this ministry and support our work financially on a consistent basis. You can make your tax deductible check out to "Courageous Christians United" and mail it to:

359 Molokai Dr.
Placentia, CA 92870.

2. You may also make a secure tax deductible donation online via PayPal on our "Support" page at MormonInfo.org. This may be automatically withdrawn each month from your bank account or credit card. If you require help with this, please contact Matt Vessey at Matt@MormonInfo.org or at the Courageous Christians United mailing address.

3. Help get Courageous Christians United on its feet with a significant one time financial gift.

4. You may purchase ministry shirts to advertise various web sites on Mormonism, which may also be found on our "Support" page at MormonInfo.org. All proceeds will go to support this ministry, but there will be no tax deduction given for this means of support.

Thank you so much for your concern and prayers for this ministry, and for those trapped by false religions and philosophies.

Rob Sivulka
President, Courageous Christians United
Rob@MormonInfo.org
www.QuestionMormonism.com

****PRAYER REQUESTS****

1. For Tara's LDS family, and Jehovah's Witness friends Michelle and Jolee
2. For guidance in developing CCU's web site and JWinfo.org
3. For Rob's continued doctoral studies at the University of Utah
4. For more speaking engagements for Rob
5. For more salvations through this ministry
6. For Beth who is meeting with LDS missionaries in order to decide whether she'll join the LDS Church

*****MAILBAG****

Could you give me 8 to 10 bullet points of what to look for in a cult?

[I responded:] A cult is a group of people that worship a completely different God from the original version it broke away from. This is distinguished from a denomination, a world religion (at least initially), and a liberal movement. A liberal movement is concerned to hold on to the original version via a traditional denominational title, but actually distorts the original in one way or another like a cult does. Having said that, a cult typically--though not always--has a new prophet, new scriptures, and a scary devotion to the group itself rather than Jesus.

Hey Rob,

I was actually writing to say that I was impressed by your site. Most anti-Mormon sites (and please don't argue against the term, call it what you will - I use it for lack of a better term) use half-truths and vague references to Brigham Young quotes to make their case, which is foolish. You actually used references to official doctrine and even had links to the lds.org website. At least you appear to be intellectually honest. Some of your headings were a bit off, but overall I was impressed, you actually weren't too far off on your "What Mormons Believe" page. I find it ironic that your icon at the top is a person with their fingers in the ears. You won't be able to convince me and I won't be able to convince you, that much I'm sure of - but it's not because neither of us are listening, I'm guessing. I read your commentary on "traditional Christianity" and it just doesn't make any more sense to me than Mormonism makes sense to you. I have a feeling that God has a tendency to lead us to churches that will draw us closest to him in our own life circumstances. I think that's what's happened to you and me.

But you know what? I respect you, and if your motives are pure, I honestly think you'll make it into heaven. When we get there, we can chat and see who turned out to be right.

Anyway, I just thought this might be a breath of fresh air from typical e-mails that you probably have gotten from other LDS members. Thanks for, at the least, attempting to be honest in your commentary on the church. I do think you're wasting a lot of time that could be spent helping people in other ways, but I work for the U.S. government, so you may say the same about me.

Watch this, it's hilarious:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yTs0wtemvU

-Kyle