Pastor's Corner

December, 2004

Just as I was wondering what to share with you this month, I receive an email stating that Ravi Zacharias, an evangelistic philosopher recently gave a three-part lecture on “The Pursuit of Truth.” It isn’t shocking news for him to hold this type of symposium. What’s shocking is the location where these lectures were held—two universities in the Salt Lake City area and at the Mormon tabernacle. A side note that accompanied this email caught my attention. It states that many Mormon’s scientist have announced the Book of Mormon as being untrustworthy and phony.

On November 13, Ravi addressed students at the University of Utah , where he spoke on “The Basis for Truth, Defending the Notion of Absolute Truth.” He concluded his three-day lectureship with “The Loss of Truth: The Crumbling Moral Foundation” on November 15 at Weber State University . Sandwiched in between, on November 14, he spoke on “Who is Jesus? Defending Jesus Christ as the Way, the Truth, and the Life” to over seven thousand people who filled the Mormon Tabernacle with an overflow setting. The Salt Lake Tribune reported, “For the first time in 105 years, a preacher of another faith was at the pulpit of the Tabernacle on Temple Square on Sunday night, urging evangelical Christians and Mormons to turn to Jesus Christ.” The last time an evangelical spoke in the Tabernacle was Dwight L. Moody in 1899.

This following is an excerpt of the report: Ravi Zacharias gave a dazzling message focusing on the person and work of Christ. I think it was the most effective thing he could have done. In my view the rank-and-file Mormons would not have found anything controversial in it. However, those LDS (Later-Day Saints) who had a more finely-tuned sense of theology (very rare among Mormons, even in their leadership) would have recognized some pointed challenges on sin, salvation, the nature of God, and the state of the human heart. Almost everyone in the audience clapped even when Ravi mentioned the Trinity—except for the BYU professors who knew it was not in concert with LDS teaching and sat more stoically at that point.

Will this be the first step for the Mormons to turn to Jesus Christ, the one True God for Salvation? Though we don’t know how long it will take for the “body” to denounce its Faith, but I hope you will join me in prayer for its members to accept Jesus Christ is God and the only Savior for mankind.

Before I sign off, I wish all of you a Merry Christmas—a time not only to greet one another with gifts. The true meaning of Christmas is God who came to greet mankind and presented a precious gift of Eternal Life to those who put their trust in Him. The message of Christmas is Joy and Peace. Have you received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior yet? I pray that you will seriously consider accepting the precious gift of God. Peace to you.

Pastor Larry