Jesus’ Truth is the One Man’s Truth
When I first came out of Mormonism to love and follow Jesus, I rejoiced in the simplicity of the gospel.1 I came to understand what it meant to live blamelessly before God,2 and to finally live at peace with Him.3 By this new faith, I know that I have eternal life.4 By, and only by, the man Jesus, can I find salvation. I know that only one Man’s truth can save me and that one Man’s truth did.
As my faith and confidence grew, I came to understand that I had been called to sound this one Man’s truth in the ears of the lost. Especially, I had been called to reach back to my people, the Mormons. Paul felt the same for his people, Israel. He carried a burden and a longing for Israel’s salvation, as do I for the Mormons.5
In the midst of this indescribable joy and the weight of my new burden for the Mormon people, I encountered opposition. I was not surprised that it came, but I was indescribably shocked that it came from men who claimed to be Christian. How, I wondered, could such resentment rise out of a faith that is so pure, simple, and comprehensible? By this question, I came to know that the one Man’s truth is not every professing Christian’s truth. Knowing this, I am deeply troubled.
As far as I know, all those who claimed Christianity while opposing and condemning were adherents of Reformed Christianity, commonly referred to as Calvinism. There seems to be a pattern in this. I am deeply trouble when I see reformed theology that seems to contradict the one Man’s truth. In light of our common claim of salvation in Christ, I struggle to understand how good fruit flows from men such as these.
I am commanded to not return evil for evil.6 However, there is a time when evil must be confronted and exposed,7 I believe that time is now! Please view the following video and provide, if you are able, answers to the questions that follow.
Click here to view the full video.
Ask a Calvinist
- If God predestined the failing members of Adam’s Road to sin and fail as they did; and if they could not do otherwise, how are they responsible for their sins?
- If the failures of some members of Adam’s Road were the predestined will of God, how can anyone criticize them for clearly acting in the will of God?
- If the sins and failings of a few members were predestined for the glory of God, how can any true Calvinist not celebrate every sinful action of every Adam’s Road member?
The Old and New Testaments speak in harmony.
I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
Deuteronomy 10:19, NKJV
Do you not know that if you present yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in righteousness?
Romans 6:16, Net
Ask a Calvinist
- Do these scriptures teach that God gave every man a choice to choose sin and death or righteousness and eternal life?
A Story That Needs To Be Told
After my Mormon excommunication, the Mormon church charged me criminally and falsely. They were talking about a jail term of six months. It was just me, a simple man with no real understanding of the law, against the full power of the Mormon church. I was to be tried in a mostly Mormon community where the judge and prosecutor were elected by the Mormon majority. Additionally, the prosecutor was a Mormon priesthood holder who regularly swore to sustain Stake President Garn Lovell, who signed the criminal complaint.
I was overwhelmed. I was a new Christian with no clear picture of the saving power of Jesus. So when a good friend suggested that a Christian man, Aaron Shafovaloff, had an audience and the ability to bring the hidden actions of Mormonism out of darkness and into the light, I was interested. The Mormons were persecuting and prosecuting in the dark fog of their secret combinations. Consequently, I desired that their dark work would be brought into the light of day.
When I called Aaron, I made no request other than that he expose the illegal actions of the Mormon church. I hoped that public exposure might pressure the Mormon leadership to back off. To be clear, I had never before heard of Aaron. To me, he was nothing more then a name and phone number. And to refute his false quotation of my words in the preceding video, I never asked to be on his Facebook channel because I didn’t know he had one.
After I made my simple request, he explained that I had not been a Christian long enough to be worthy of his attention or assistance. This I filed away as an example of the type of Christian I hope to never be. God willing, He will keep me from it.
The Good Samaritan Comes to Idaho
A certain man went down from Mormonism to Biblical Christianity, and fell among thieves who were part of the Mormon elite. They stripped him of hope, sought to take away his freedom, and wounded him emotionally and spiritually.
And by chance, there came down a certain man who bore the name of the great high priest, Aaron. When he saw the man being abused by a great evil, he passed by on the other side.
A second man, a simple Christian learned of the great injustice being perpetrated against the new Christian, and he had compassion on him.
He gave that beaten down man the one thing he needed most. He gave the victimized man the one gift he didn’t know he needed. As the man waited for a court hearing that became the first in a string that spanned many months, his phone vibrated. Looking down, he saw a new text message that simply read, “Matthew 10:17“. Having his Bible in hand, the man opened and read words that would become the entirety of his legal defense strategy:
16Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 17But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; 18And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. 19But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. 20For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.
Matthew 10: 16-20, KJV, Emphasis added
From that moment forward, the man carried only his Bible to court appearances. He trusted in Jesus and held fast to the promise of Matthew 10. In due time, man was offered an opportunity to plead guilty to a lesser charge. He refused! In God’s perfect timing, the powers of darkness dismissed every charge against the man.
On the day he exited the courthouse for the last time, he joined Peter and John as a true disciple of Jesus Christ.
41And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. 42And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.
Acts 5:41-42, KJV, Emphasis added
Who then was the neighbor of the man who fell among thieves? Was it the first or the man who shared the promise and salvation of Jesus?
Ask a Mormon
- Where is the scripture that authorizes any of us to withhold aid to a persecuted Christian because of the briefness of his or her membership in the Body of Christ?
Message to Aaron Shafovaloff
In the video, you simply referred to me as a man from Idaho. Do you always use such discretion when you speak of me? The answer lies in the text you sent.
Dear Aaron,
In light of this screen shot, I think it is safe to say that in non-public forums you join the Mormon Church and seek to discredit me.
Context is everything as they say. Shortly after you broke the Adam’s Road timeline, Eric Johnson, of Mormon Research Ministries, telephoned me. He wanted the contact info of my Pastor. Initially I refused, not wanting to expose a good man to “Aaron Shafovaloff” style drama. I expected you were behind the request and soon enough you jumped in as evidenced by the above texts.
Reasoning that you might go away if you could speak with my Pastor, I asked and got his permission to share his contact info. You never contacted my Pastor to get the truth. Neither did anyone else. Instead, you relied on the anonymous word of someone you called “someone”. I question whether someone is even real. Anonymous testimony is the easiest to produce.
Either way, you could have talked with the Pastor I see every week. You could have spoken with the man who trusts me to preach over his pulpit. You could have spoken with the man I trust to over-watch my ministry and provide accountability. Instead, anonymous someone shaped your opinion and became the basis for continued Mormon-like persecution.
This all leads me to ask, did you desire to find and understand relevant facts? Or did you desire only to confirm and affirm your faulty presuppositions? We shall let the reader decide.
P.S. I have no quarrel with Eric Johnson.
Aaron, you have been doing what you do for as many years as I have been a disciple of Jesus. This is incredible to me since you and I have never met in person.
In most cases your actions are no more concerning than an encountered roadkill skunk at 80 mph. You are a series of unimportant distractions that are briefly noticed and soon forgotten. You seem to place an over-inflated value on the sound of your voice. I suspect you have neglected to consider the voice of Jesus in this matter.
I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
Revelation 3:8, KJV
You see, God has and will continue to open doors before me. These open doors make a way forward for me and for this ministry. When God opens doors, I pass through them and you, sir, are no matter to it. You might spend eternity bashing your head on doors Jesus opened, but you will never close even one. Consequently, I don’t care what you say about me in the corners of your dark world. Until now I have chosen to ignore, to not return evil for evil.8 Because you quoted me fallaciously on a public forum, I now set the record straight.
You see Aaron, this is just another roadkill encounter. It is not unlike the ones that came before except I paused to make mention of the incredible stench, and to point out that I have never inserted myself into your life. By contrast, your hyper judgmental, hyper critical, hyper Calvinism has been intentionally shoved in my face yet again. I smelled it, passed threw, and now return my attention to the duties of the kingdom.
I am reminded of Nehemiah who told Sanballat and his thugs, I am too busy doing the work of the Lord to diddle with the likes of you!9
Conclusion
The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.
Proverbs 18:17, ESV
In the immortal words of Paul Harvey, “And now you know the rest of the story.”
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