Manti Mormon Miracle Pageant Outreach 2018

This year marks the 52nd consecutive Mormon Miracle Pageant, located in Manti, UT which started in 1967. This year it began June 14-16 and 19-23. It is an annual event that local and traveling Mormons go to every year to celebrate and remember their Mormon heritage, roots, and how it started. It is also an annual missionary project for various Christians who travel to this area to witness and share the true Christ to Mormons during the event.

The Pageant Itself

The Manti Mormon Miracle Pageant is comprised of three sections, which are made up of 20 scenes. The first section dealt with the coming forth of the Book of Mormon through the Prophet Joseph Smith. The second section tells of the "history" of the people groups that are revealed from the gold plates Joseph Smith supposedly found. The third section bring us to the early history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) and their persecution and struggle moving across the country 

to Utah. This pageant is, as you can see in the picture, is performed on the hill that the Mani Temple sits on. The event itself is very organized through a unified effort to share the Mormon faith. Many people come from all over the country to watch the performances, and every year they have anywhere from 60,000 to 80,000 Mormons in attendance (as opposed to less than 100 Christians who come to witness to them).

Why I Like To Witness To Mormons

What makes an evangelistic witnessing trip to Utah special is that it is part of the 10/40 window and also part of the United States. Do you realize that only 1% of the state of Utah is Christian? If that is the case, imagine being the only Christian who knows the gospel of Christ in your job, your high school, your town, and in even some cases...your county. Imagine being the only Christian church in 100 miles? That is crazy to think about happening here in America today. With that being said, there are many LDS who will never have a conversation with a Christian or hear the true gospel of Christ. Many of the young LDS missionaries will hear the gospel from a Christian while they are on their missions. But the one reason I like to witness to LDS is that I love these people, I care about them, and want to see them saved in the true faith. 

Witnessing on the Streets of Manti

Solid Rock Bible Museum Stand at food court.

 Witnessing this year at the pageant was a little different and for the better. Two years ago the LDS church bought the street that ran along the temple and was the main strip where we would do our witnessing. Since we cannot go behind the barrier, we were forced to witness in other areas. One street will not keep those of us away. Sometime between last year and this year the house where the food court usually sits was sold, and the yard was fenced in. This put the new food court on public property and over 4 blocks away, giving us Christians a much larger area to share Christ with the LDS people. Way more area than that was taken in

 the sale of the street. Since the food court is on public property, the Solid Rock cafe took much of their bible museum from the cafe and brought it to the pageant to show LDS that they bible has tons of archaeological evidence to support the it, and the Book of Mormon does not. This was a wonderful display and much appreciated by many who attended.

Each day a few hours before pageant started we would all hit the streets and try to get into conversations. Many of us would use tracts and just hand them out as door openers to share the conversations we desperately wanted to have. Some of us held signs, some wore t-shirts in hopes to have LDS consider their message. One girl in particular, who was new to this outreach this year had a different approach, which many LDS came to talk with her. She asked people to wall-sit in their own power for as long as they could stand it before giving up. Then as they are wall-sitting she would witness to them and ask them questions as to how difficult in was to follow the LDS religion. At the end, she would then say, "Why would you wall-sit in your own strength when you can sit down in Christ Jesus", as she removes a sign on the chair that says, "Jesus". "All you need to do is by faith, trust that the chair will hold you up," she would say as she would give them the candy that was promised.

Amy from Stand To Reason Ministries

But not all people were here for the LDS. Amy, from Stand To Reason, a Christian apologetic ministry was here to ask those who left the LDS faith if atheism is true. She did have a few conversations with those who had given up on God altogether after leaving the Utah religion. She encouraged them not to, "Throw the baby Jesus out with the bathwater" and to have faith in Christ, and not in what man has come up with.

This year I was excited to have Matt Slick, Founder of Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry [CARM] here to join us on the pageant streets. Not only was he an extremely funny person with a great sense of humor, but also a very caring and humble Christian man. Much different than how he portrays himself on his radio shows.

The conversations that I had were typical, and yet a surprise to me as well. The second day I had a conversation for about 45 minutes with two ladies as I asked them if a diagram I had was correct, that in order to attain eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom that they had to accoplish all these works on the list. It was very apparent that I knew more about their religion than they did; including statements like, "Well my husband drinks alot of beer and it doesn't stop him from going to temple."

Aaron open air preaching

Another time I made a wrong turn heading to the pageant from the food court winding up on a back road far from the area I needed to be in. I ran into three guys; Mike, Sam, and Carson, whom I thought were Christians, until Mike made the statement, "I'm a weird Mormon who believes in salvation by faith alone in Christ alone, but I still believe in the Book of Mormon." They all were out of the mission field for several years, but struggling with Mormonism and having faith in Christ. I talked with them for like an hour and had a great conversation but had to let it go so they can get to the pageant. I gave my card to Mike in hopes we could continue the conversation. We have emailed each other several times since. Last week I sent him a John Piper book, Desiring God. He is a big Piper fan, and has been studying Calvinism for a few years.  I'm willing to give up a book of mine for the gospel.

This year I traveled lighter and only took my LDS quad (which has all the LDS standard works) and an LDS book called True To The Faith, which shows the basics on Mormonism. Five years ago when I came the first time I took those, plus 3 more books. My back hurt so much, and I never touched the other three books the entire time I was there. Most of my conversations I never really touched on Mormonism unless I had to. The tracts I passed out were your regular million dollar bills from Tract Planet. I was also able to give out 8 Gideon New Testaments during the trip, which the last time I came I wish I had them.

Some of our conversations changed the minds of some of the people who were against us. Our leader had a conversation with the owners of a local hotel and cafe. He worked out a deal with the owner to have our group of 35 come before the lunch crowd to eat so they would know that we are only here to love them and share truth. They agreed. Since they only had their daughter, Misty, run the entire store that morning, our leader cooked most of the food on the grill, another one of our elders took the orders, and the only thing she did was scoop ice cream. We even tipped her socks off and she was really supper blessed.

Travels To Utah and Back to Iowa

For the most part the travels went well, and we were always ahead of schedule. On the way out we ran into this tornado forming in the Western part of Nebraska. The video was even better showing debris climbing into the cloud. Even though it was over 500 yards away, the winds were fierce. Found out later this same storm flipped an RV after we passed by it. 

In the end it was a great trip and made alot of headway. We only knew of one conversion from Mormonism to Christianity, but I'm sure the Lord will be working on more. If anyone has doubts about this ministry look at this picture. This was the second night of the pageant and seats are literally empty. The LDS ushers asked if we wanted to come inside and sit on the LDS property as long as we behaved. We are making strides for sure. 

If you have any questions regarding witnessing to Mormons and LDS and you want to know more, please contact me. 

Pella Tulip Time 2018

Three weeks ago, May 1st through 3rd was the 2018 Pella Tulip Time Festival in Pella, Iowa. It was an awesome event passing out tracts and witnessing to the locals, and people that traveled far to attend this annual gathering. This year was quite different and with Jon Niefert, our fearless Captain and new friend at the helm, he made it a year we will not forget.

Jon did an impressive job not only supplying the tracts, but also writing, designing, and printing tracts specific to the Pella Tulip Time Festival. One in particular talked about the founding of the town and the first church which was started by persecuted Christians from Holland seeking refuge in the new world. We also had a plethora of other tools to use like million dollar bills, DVD's, booklets, and CD's to share Christ with the people of Pella.

Our Guests and Friends

But Jon didn't stop there! He invited some very special guests to teach at the start of each day and give lessons on how to witness and share our faith. Not only did they speak, but they also went out with us at the festival to share Christ along side us, which was really awesome.

Tony Ramsek  

Tony has worked for Answers In Genesis since 1999 and leads numerous gospel outreaches for the ministry. This includes the annual evangelism outreach to the NEA convention for public school teachers. He is also the Information Technology (IT) Manager for the ministry. It is Tony's heart's desire to exalt Christ, equip the saints, and evangelize the lost. He also brought with him an assistant, Brandon Bailey to aid in the gospel efforts and was a key figure in helping us reach the lost at Pella. 

Allen Atzbi 

Allen in the General Manager at Living Waters as well as the Director of the Ambassador's Academy. He holds a Master of Theology Degree from International Seminary and served as a Youth Pastor for a decade. Allen has trained churches in evangelism and led weekly street witnessing teams for years.

Grace Mally

Grace is the Author of the book, Will Our Generation Speak? A Call To Be Bold with the Gospel, and is the Co-Author to Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends. Her and her family have a ministry called, Tomorrow's Forefathers, which equips families to be strong in the Lord. Grace also enjoys arranging witnessing events in her home town, which has led to a ministry called, Bright Lights, focusng on encouaging young girls to be radiant in godliness, holiness, and their testimony. She also gave her newest book out to us that attended the training and witnessing event.

On The Streets

Without going into specifics, it was a fantastic couple of days. After the teaching every day we paired into teams of two and hit the streets to share Christ with people at the festival. We also were out passing out tracts to those who waited for the morning and afternoon parades. Since Pella was founded by persecuted Christians, you would think that it would be a huge waste of time to share with those who were possibly Christians. But we ran into MANY people from all over surrounding states to come and enjoy the day. I personally witnessed to those from Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, and even Illinois.

We all carried tracts that Jon had specifically made for the event, and they were great tools to help start conversations. The crazy thing is that we gave out so much, that most of us were overlapping each other and offering tracts to the same persons.

While I was coming back from lunch, I ran into a Latter Day Saint (LDS) Mormon family who was there wearing badges.  I didn't know they were LDS until I gave them one of the Pella informational tracts and saw the name tag. I asked the older gentleman, "So what is the best thing about being an LDS Mormon? I have been studying it for years and was curious to what you thought." We had a nice long talk about grace, forgiveness of sin, and how no matter how many works they do, they will never be worthy enough to attain heaven on their own. We exchanged info and I was able to give them all a Joseph Smith million dollar bill I had purchased from a Utah ministry when I went to Utah for the Manti Mormon Miracle Pageant. They agreed to read the tract if I agreed to watch one a video by one of their BYU Professors about grace. I kept my end of the bargain, but pray they keep theirs.

One of the best things about this trip was meeting new Evangelists, talking shop with them, and sharing ideas on reaching the lost for Christ. We talked to each other in our two-by-two pair-ups, and then when we got together at lunch and during the parades, we shared our testimonies in larger groups on how the Lord opened our hearts. The fellowship between us all was amazing and how we worked together even through our different backgrounds, denominations, and styles.

Even though I am an introvert, and don't like the crowds, I know that my unique gifts are required elsewhere, and not excusing me either to do extroverted evangelism like this. I would much rather do one on ones. But in reality, we all need to pass out tracts and open those doors so that we can. The entire event went well, and by the end all our energy was spent on gardening, tilling, and planting those seeds of the gospel. 

What Mormon Missionaries Don't Tell You!

Ha! Just saw this on Frank's FB page, and had to share it here...click the link below and enjoy the 4-1/2 minute video...

"Mormon Secrets: What the Missionaries Don't Tell You." 

What's it about? Glad you asked:
"When the Mormon missionaries come knocking at your door, there is more than meets the eye. They say they are Christians, but there's a lot they are hiding from you!
What would it look like if they were actually honest? Let's find out!"



Please note, this is not intended merely to poke fun at Mormons. They possess and spread "another gospel" (Galatians 1:6-10), and fall under the divine anathema Paul writes of under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost: anathema means "damned to Hell." They are deceived, and are deceiving others; when they come to your door, they are not presenting what they really believe, and that's the point of this video. (Jehovah's Witnesses pull off a very similar deception, by the way!)

Pray for and evangelize LDS when you get the opportunity. It is not God's will that these perish.

Reaching the Lost Now - Regardless

Rob's ministry to men and women deceived by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) is an encouragement to me. I just wanted to share a brief clip of a young woman who tried to embarrass, ridicule, and stop the witness Rob has to these souls. This has happened to me, and it is very...interesting. The Holy Spirit can and will turn the attacks of the enemy to our advantage, and it seems to me that this could be the case with Rob's friend here.

Click Here To Watch Video

Sorry, for some reason I could not embed the YouTube video right in this article, but the link above works fine.

Despite opposition, it is imperative that believer's in the Lord Jesus Christ be actively reaching the lost now. Is it easy? No. Is it difficult? Usually. Is there persecution? Well, all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution, (2 Timothy 3:12) so yes. in some form or another. But Jesus said, "Go!"

Let's encourage each other to persevere in our labor for our Lord. Pray for these lost LDS folks. Pray for the young woman as well. And while you're at it, pray for Rob and all the other Christians who are out there reaching the lost...now. Maranatha!

Another Response To Jared's Comment

Just as a reminder, this was Jared's comment on a blog post about me going to Manti, UT to witness to Mormons. 

If you are so enthused about your faith, why don't you preach it rather than tear down anothers? You are clearly targeting the faith of a specific church when you should be promoting your own. The Mormon church is called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mormons clearly believe in Jesus Christ just like you do. I would suggest you focus on your similarities rather than your differences. You clearly don't believe what they do but they clearly don't believe what you think they believe. Would Christ have disputed with a group of people claiming to be his followers or would he have simply introduced himself to them? Your method of targeting the Mormons is sad and un christ like. There are many people that need the message of Christ in your own communities. I would suggest you start there and stop targeting any particular individual faith. Combining with other faiths that are not your own to tear down one that you all think is the weakest. That's what a group of bullies would do. Mormon's are good people that value families and serving their neighbor's and communities. Surely you can find someone better to preach your message to.

I have to admit I was a little taken back by the comment.  It described me as a person who hates Mormons and people of other faiths than my own.  That was not the case, and it couldn't be furthrer from the truth.  The fact is, is that I am deeply concerned for the Mormon people.  Enough to travel 2 days and over 2,500 miles on a stinky, cramped bus with many people I didn't know, to camp out and get eaten by bugs, and get yelled at by people who would rather see me crawl in a hole and die.  Sounds like a blast right?  But the reason I went was to share the real Jesus Christ with those who "claim" to know Him. 


Revelation 3:1 says, "“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write,
‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead..."  Just because they have the name "Jesus Christ" in their title does not mean they are Chrisitian.  Do they worship, revere, and regard as divine Christ, the Son of God?  No.  In fact you will never see a cross on the steeple of a LDS meeting house, but a figure of the Angel Moroni.  They in fact worship angels, above the Son of God. 

And lets take a look at the tract that I purchased from the LDS bookstore in Salt Lake City, UT I had given those teens: 

Notice who's missing?  JESUS CHRIST!!!  If Jesus was so important to Mormons, why is He NOT in God's plan of salvation?  Christianity cannot exist without CHRIST!!!  Christ is Christianity.  I didn't write this, the LDS church did. 

Also, this sign was posted everywhere we went that was on LDS grounds:  Any why is that the case?   If we are the same, believe in Jesus Christ, and brothers and sisters in the faith, then why can't I evangelize and proclaim Him on LDS property?  Why would I be threatened with arrest if we both believe in Christ?  Love thy brother right?  The reason is, (and they know this) is that we believe in a different Jesus than they do.  Even their former prophet and seer Gordon B. Hinkley believed that, and stated it numerous times. 

In a nutshell, if you think that LDS is Christian, you have been duped Jared.  Maybe you were lied to by the Mormon Missionaries that came to your door.  Maybe you have a friend of family member share Mormonism with you and since they are so friendly they MUST be Chrisitan...right?  If you want a great and fair analysis between Mormonism and Christianity, please go to this website.  On the front page you will see a chart on the differences between Mormonism and Christianity. 


I also ask that you would watch this well done documentary called : The Bible Vs The Book of Mormon. It's a great start to show the differences between our faith. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this.  If you have any other questions please email me at:  Fchirico72@gmail.com

 

Why Witness to Mormons? Response to Jared's Comment.

Got a comment from "Jared" from an article written last year by Frank Chirco, regarding a mission trip he took to Manti, Utah, to witness to people who follow The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS or "Mormons"). I am going to re-post Jared's comments here for you to examine. Also, there are 2 links near the end of this article - one a video of Walter Martin - that you should check out, so drop down there and do so before leaving!

Jared writes:
"If you are so enthused about your faith, why don't you preach it rather than tear down anothers? You are clearly targeting the faith of a specific church when you should be promoting your own. The Mormon church is called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mormons clearly believe in Jesus Christ just like you do. I would suggest you focus on your similarities rather than your differences. You clearly don't believe what they do but they clearly don't believe what you think they believe. Would Christ have disputed with a group of people claiming to be his followers or would he have simply introduced himself to them? Your method of targeting the Mormons is sad and un christ like. There are many people that need the message of Christ in your own communities. I would suggest you start there and stop targeting any particular individual faith. Combining with other faiths that are not your own to tear down one that you all think is the weakest. That's what a group of bullies would do. Mormon's are good people that value families and serving their neighbor's and communities. Surely you can find someone better to preach your message to."

I tried to contact Jared via email, thanking him for commenting, and asking some questions (Are you LDS? What does it take to make it to Heaven?) but I got no reply. So here are my responses to Jared below, broken down into 4 points (hover your cursor over the scripture references and the verses will pop-up so you can read them):

First, let me quote a well known Mormon Apostle and Prophet, Orson Pratt:

"Convince us of our errors of doctrine, if we have any, by reason, by logical arguments, or by the Word of God, and we will be ever grateful for the information, and you will ever have the pleasing reflection that you have been instruments in the hands of God of redeeming your fellow beings from the darkness which you may see enveloping their minds."

Orson Pratt, Apostle Orson Pratt, The Seer, pp. 15‑16

Very good: exactly what Frank and his companions went to Manti to do, Jared. Orson Pratt does not seem to have a problem with it, so I'm not sure why you do. But here goes....

1.If you are so enthused about your faith, why don't you preach it rather than tear down anothers? You are clearly targeting the faith of a specific church when you should be promoting your own.

Response: I do preach Biblical Christianity and the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Contrary to your statement, the Bible exhorts us to "earnestly contend for the faith which was ONCE delivered unto the saint. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of God into lasciviousness, and denying the ONLY Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ." (Jude 3-4). Truth by its very nature is narrow, so by declaring the one true God of the Bible, the true Jesus Christ, and the true gospel of salvation by faith in Christ alone apart from works, I exclude the false man-become-God "Heavenly Father" of the LDS faith, the false Jesus Christ who did not create all things (Colossians 1:16), and a salvation based on faith + your works. Not because I hate Mormons. On the contrary, it is an act of love to reach out to these who will perish in their sins if they stick with their LDS religion (John 17:3)

2. The Mormon church is called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mormons clearly believe in Jesus Christ just like you do. I would suggest you focus on your similarities rather than your differences.

Response: Jared, nothing could be further from the truth! The Jesus Christ of the LDS is NOT the Biblical Jesus Christ. Colossians 1:16-20 tell us that Jesus created all things. The Mormon Jesus did not: according to the LDS, he did not create Lucifer, he did not create the Mormon spirit babies, he did not create the planet Heaven Father was born on, etc. The Biblical Jesus claimed to be the I AM (John 8:58-59), and the reaction of the Jews proves the point: he was claiming to be the LORD. 

Your advice to focus on the similarities goes contrary to what God says in the Bible according to Ephesians 5:11 "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." And further, the Apostle Paul proclaims divine damnation on anyone - ANYONE - who would bring in "another gospel" than that which he first preached to the church in Galatia: "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:7-9) "Accursed" here means to be damned by God to Hell. That is heavy, but look at the consequences...millions or billions of people could be deceived by a false gospel and a false Christ, die still in their sins, and end up in Hell as well.

3. "Your method of targeting the Mormons is sad and un christ like. There are many people that need the message of Christ in your own communities. I would suggest you start there and stop targeting any particular individual faith."

Response: Wrong again! Jesus Christ himself commands his followers to go into all the world and preach the gospel (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15) . Last time I checked, Manti, Utah is part of "all the world." The people to go there, go with the message of the gospel, and challenge the LDS by exposing the differences between LDS and Biblical Christianity. Because the love them, and want them to be saved from their sins and the wrath of God.

I do minister the hope of the gospel in my community. Did you read nothing else on the Iowa Seed Sowers website? Did you look at the calendar of events, and see I am out at least twice a week, giving away free Bibles and gospel tracts, and offer to pray for the needs of my friends & neighbors here? Where you around last Wednesday night when I mowed the grass for the widow with 4 small children who lives across the street? Not that I need to defend myself from your accusations - God sees and God knows, and my aim is to please him....

And further, the LDS church sends MILLIONS of missionaries all over the world to proselytize their faith and repeat the lies of Joseph Smith. Why is that okay? I spoke with two LDS missionaries just this past Thursday: they like to use words that make you think we are all believing the same things, when really they are light-years apart! Know where the Mormons get most of their converts? From other religions! They pluck many Bible-illiterate professing "Christians" out of their churches and into the LDS religion. Why is that okay for the LDS but not for me?

4. "Combining with other faiths that are not your own to tear down one that you all think is the weakest. That's what a group of bullies would do. Mormon's are good people that value families and serving their neighbor's and communities. Surely you can find someone better to preach your message to."

Response: We do not combine with other religious faiths, period, so that's that. 

The LDS church is one of the richest and organized religions around, so I don't agree with your idea about them being weak. Bullies? When we do reach out the lost around us, we don't call them names. Real, Biblical, caring Christians are far from being bullies: we speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).

But speaking of that, in areas of the country where LDS is predominant, if a person leaves Mormonism, they are the ones ostracized by their former church brethren & neighbors. Utah has one of the highest rates of divorce in the nation. Know why? Because if one of the spouses - husband or wife - decides to leave the Mormon church, it messes up the ability for the other spouse to be exalted (as they falsely believe) to become Gods, so they divorce that person & hitch their wagon to someone following the Mormon faith correctly, so they can become Gods, have spirit children on some other planet, and be worshiped by those children as their Heavenly Father or Heavenly Mother. Wow!

Biblical Christians know that our Lord Jesus told us there would be a cost to following him. Christians in Muslim countries take their life in their hands to follow Jesus. Here in the States, it is usually limited to name-calling, maybe losing the esteem of men, maybe getting the cold shoulder from family. Times are changing, and the persecution will be coming. But right now, it is worse for Mormons, or Jehovah's Witnesses, maybe some Roman Catholics. When they leave these cults, they may be cut-off from family and friends. Ultimately we who know Christ know that if we suffer for Jesus' name in this life, our eternity with him will be just that much more glorious (Matthew 5:11-12). 

You say Mormons are "good people", and this, I think, is the key issue behind the comments here. Jared, do you consider yourself to be a good person? Compare yourself to God's moral law, the Ten Commandments: if you have ever lied, you are a liar; if you've ever stolen something, however small, you are a thief; if you've looked at a woman with lust, Jesus says you are guilty of committing adultery with her already in your heart. Still think you (or anyone else) is "good" according to God's standard? (Check out this LINK for more)

So, no, Jared, I cannot think of someone better to share the Biblical God, Jesus, and gospel with than lost people. See, Mormons and everyone else fall far short of God's perfect standard. If we all got what we deserved, we'd ALL end up in Hell. That's why Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect life, and laid down his life on Calvary's cross, was buried, and rose again. He took the wrath of God upon himself, so that we could take the grace and mercy of God in him. Forgiveness, mercy, love, acceptance, and eternal life are a gift from God, paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ, and is received by faith in what he did for us, personally. Plus nothing. And because God has given us this gift, we want to share it with as many people as possible.

And to finish, here's a link to an old Dr. Walter Martin giving a talk in Brigham City, Utah, and which will answer Jared's questions and provide responses that are far better than I could come up with. Please watch it:

In Season: M'town Witnessing at the local Summer Market

View from corner of Main Street & Center Street

The Lord gave us a beautiful day, and the season for the Marshalltown Farmers Market around the Courthouse has begun. And that means witnessing for Jesus Christ to my friends & neighbors here. I got to drop by with a witnessing cross and tracts, and it was a good time. I got to have conversations with two LDS Missionaries, Grant & "Mr. Deeds" (missed his first name - I couldn't bring myself to refer to these very young men as "elder", despite their name badges) who happened to walk by. And there was Chen, an Chinese young man who is an engineering Intern from Iowa State, working at a local manufacturer for the summer.

Shadow of me & my witnessing cross

Got some gospel tracts out, and had some good conversations, especially with the Mormon lads. I am looking forward to running into them again around town. I know they do not have the correct information for what it takes to go to Heaven, and that LDS doctrine deviates severely from Biblical Christianity. We who have received the gift of eternal life have to reach out to these lost ones. I hope you will join with me in prayer, that the Lord will give more opportunities to speak truth into their lives, and that they might repent & believe on the REAL Jesus Christ before it is eternally too late.

Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.

John 4:35-36 

Manti, Utah Mormon Outreach

For the past few years I have been asked to take part in the Utah Outreach to Mormons in Manti, Utah during the Manti Mormon Miracle Pageant.  Finally through God’s will and answered prayer  I along with a team of 51 people from 7 different fellowships, First Family Church of Ankeny, IA being the majority,  was able to go between June 17 -24.  I was so blessed to be a part of this endeavor and would gladly go again…even possibly for both weeks.  

There was so much packed into the week that I spent that it seemed like I was gone for a month.  The travel was just as long as going back home to visit my parents in NJ.  Thankfully we had power outlets on the bus so we can charge cell phones, laptops and other things to help pass the time.

We continuously had training in addition to the 8 weeks we had previous to the trip.  From the moment we got on the bus we watched training videos and documentaries on Mormonism on the big screens, and listening to audio on our cell phones.  Each day we also had training at Ephraim Church of the Bible in Ephraim, UT which was 6 miles from Manti Temple.   HERE is one such lesson.  There we were able to buy tracts, DVD’s, and Mormon material to share Christ and hopefully open the eyes of the blind of the Mormon indigenous.  It was awesome how much training and materials the church provided.  And I cannot forget the great worship and prayer we had while we were there.  You can listen and watch some of it HERE. 

Many prayers were answered during the time we were there.  One of which was getting the tents set up in Christian Ghetto (our park camping spot) with good weather and quickly.  We had not a cloud in the sky and got all 11 tents up in less than an hour.  Logistics throughout the trip went very smoothly from the travel going out to the travel coming back. The only problems that we had were several people getting sick, which is a normal occurrence due to the high altitudes of Utah. 

During our trip we took a tour of Salt Lake City and traveled around a bit to see the history of Mormonism straight from the source.  It gave me a whole new outlook on Mormonism than ever before.  I thought it was deceptive before, but this trip confirmed it. 

We took a walk through the Church Museum where they showed mostly the exodus out of Missouri to Salt Lake City.  The one thing that really got me thinking was Joseph Smith’s bible and some of the original transcripts of the Book of Mormon which they called “ancient writings”.  Last time I checked, Civil War era was not considered “ancient”.  But it was interesting that his bible was all scratched out and edited to fit his doctrine.     

Next we took a walk over to Temple Square and saw a film in the Joseph Smith building called, Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration.  It was probably the most deceptive thing of the whole trip in which right in the beginning it tells you that it's all true, when it wasn't.  It depicted Joseph Smith as a God fearing, family man who loves the Lord.  This couldn’t have been further from the truth.  Joseph Smith dabbled in the occult with his peep-stones, he had 33 other wives (some of which were under aged or married, which he had the nerve to say God ordained it.  They never showed the translation process of the Book of Mormon, nor do you see the gold plates at all.  So much was left out but they managed to add that he healed the sick and raised the dead (which never happened).  We also went to the Temple Square Visitors Center which I called the “Grand Propaganda Building”. This housed TV’s so you can watch LDS commercials, and get a look at the SLC Temple dollhouse which shows what it looks like inside without being there, and equipped with missionaries to answer any questions (which I had a few myself).  We were able to witness with a few LDS missionaries practicing to go out on mission and it was interesting to see their reaction to some of our questions.  It was great practice to go on the streets of Manti. 

Witnessing on the streets of Manti was challenging, but also in a way was normal for me.  It’s always a challenge to engage someone in conversation so you have to be pretty creative when it comes to starting a conversation.  Tracts are a good way of doing that.  I can’t go into detail with every conversation, but the ones that stick out in my mind were the really good ones. 

My first encounter was in the food court with a teenage girl and her two younger brothers.  I used a display called, “Heavenly Father’s Plan of Salvation” where I got it from Deseret Books in Temple Square, SLC and gave it to them and asked them if that was truly what their church teaches.  They said it did.  But then I asked them, “What was missing”?  That’s when they really opened up and after 5 minutes and giving up, I said, “Jesus.  You belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and according to this document from your church, Jesus…is NOT a part of Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation.”  So I asked another question, “So according to this document, who saves who?” which one of the boys said it clearly, “we save ourselves.”  That’s when their phones went off the hook and their parents were calling to tell us to leave the conversation.  The devil hates it when we share our faith.  

 

It was cool to watch the eyes of the blind wake up and realize what they are doing, living, and experience is wrong.  There was one kid, Wyatt, who was really confused at what Rob Sivulka was open-air preaching.  And when confronting Wyatt in a way using the 10 Commandments to awaken his conscience, it was amazing to see how he couldn’t understand what I was talking about then in the following 15 minutes totally understanding and joyful of what I was showing him through God’s Word.  It was pretty mindblowing especially when he went away with a New Testament hopping and jumping so full of joy and turning around seeing that you had a group of Christians who witnessed the whole thing saying that a miracle just happened.  It was totally cool. 

There were a lot of “firsts times” while we were there.  It was the first time:

·         during the pageant that every Christian had at least one witnessing encounter.

·         there were not enough actors to perform just one part in the pageant and they had to double or even triple up on parts.  There has been a significant decline in members every year.  This has been because of the efforts of us Christians taking time and going to Manti to share our faith, and also the internet in which questions are being asked...and answered. 

·         the tours at Temple Square were shut down.  This was due to too many Christians taking tours and asking questions. 

In short it was an amazing trip.  If you have a heart for the Mormon people, and those trapped in Mormonism and you desire to see those saved with the true gospel, I highly recommend going to this event.

An Update on the ISS website....

God is great.
Lots of evangelism going on.
Frank is wrapping up in Utah with his outreach to Mormons at the annual Manti Miracle Pageant.
I've been out several times with some of our witnessing crosses, and was able to make it to the little Farmers Market here in Marshalltown for the first time this season.

Just wanted to let you know that we continue to work on this website:

Added some links to the side bar:
1. www.mormoninfo.org
2. www.jwinfo.org
3. www.musliminfo.org
4. www.courageouschristiansunited.org

These include some helpful information for people involved in Mormonism (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), Jehovah's Witness, and the religion of Islam. I hope they help you minister to those involved in these religions, and that precious souls who are trapped in these religions would escape to the freedom and eternal life that is in Jesus Christ.

Started adding some pictures to the "Pictures" tab that Frank set up. Still trying to figure out how to use this page effectively, so check back if you're interested...it may get better.

I did complete the gospel message on the "How to Become a Child of God" tab. This is such an important subject, so I hope I have it presented in a way that is understandable to the reader and faithful to God's word. If I can find a way to communicate this message of hope and love better, and still warn sinners to flee from the coming wrath, I will make revisions as needed. What I don't want to do is to appeal to man's emotions, or make the gospel some kind of sales gimmick. For those of you who pray for us and our ministry, please pray that in all things we would faithfully proclaim the gospel in a Biblical, God-centered and God-honoring manner. And pray that we would be an encouragement to the body of Christ, and that people will come to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ through the efforts of those of us who participate on this website.

May God richly bless you.