For Members of

THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

DO YOU HAVE A TESTIMONY OF THE GOSPEL

OF JESUS CHRIST?

NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT...

IF YOU HAVE A REAL TESTIMONY

MORMON-FRIENDLY
This booklet may challenge you at first, but it will be
wonderful and life-changing as you finish it.
I have a testimony of the gospel that brings unrivaled joy and peace, and it actually holds
up when examined and cross-examined. Your testimony has holes in it so big you could
drive a truck through them. Only one hole would render your testimony meaningless, but
there are at least seven of these massive holes in your testimony of the gospel of Jesus
Christ.

There are seven holes in your flawed testimony

that you could drive a truck through.

In stark contrast, my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ is real. It holds up. More
than that, it is much better news—so wonderful that it could bring you a hundred-fold joy
and peace over what you have now. Wouldn’t you like to have a testimony like that? You
can, and I want to pass it to you.
I must first show you seven holes in your flawed testimony; yet if you will be patient, by
the time you finish reading this booklet—and with the Lord’s help—I will help you build
your faith and your testimony beyond anything you’ve ever imagined. It will indeed be a
testimony that is like a pearl of exceedingly great price.

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At the outset you must answer a crucial question. Who is this one jealous Lord who wants us
to worship only Him and no other god? Who is the One you are commanded to love above all
else? Your highest priority relationship is to be with whom? Who is this Lord who is most
high for evermore and has no gods above Him? Who spoke to Moses from the burning bush?
Who is the One giving the Ten Commandments? Who is He?
Heavenly Father (named Elohim)? Jesus (Jehovah)? The godhead organization? Perhaps a
higher being like Heavenly Grandfather?

The most important and all-encompassing commandment is to love somebody with

every bit of your heart, soul, mind, and strength—to get your top-priority relationship
right. Who is that ”somebody” whom your foremost relationship…is with???
The greatest evil—and, indeed, the essence of all sin—is getting the foremost
commandment wrong. This evil has a name: idolatry.

So, are you clear on the object of the most important command-ment in all scripture?
I know that you are confused, but don’t be embarrassed. LDS bishops have told me that they
are confused, too.
In fact, official Mormon sources render great confusion about this. The Church emphatically
teaches that Jesus [Jehovah] is the god of the Old Testament; that it was the pre-incarnate
Jesus who dealt with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and all the Old Testament prophets. This
teaching would mean that it was Jesus Christ who spoke the Shema of Deuteronomy 6.
Indeed, the Book of Mormon says that the Son is to be the object of our worship:

2 Nephi 25:29 “…Christ is the Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before
him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if
ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out.”
Unfortunately, it is not that simple, however. The Pearl of Great Price contradicts this and
says that it was Heavenly Father who issued his commands from the burning bush:
Pearl of Great Price, Moses 1:17 “And he also gave me commandments when he called
unto me out of the burning bush, saying: Call upon God in the name of mine Only
Begotten, and worship me [Heavenly Father].”

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YOUR SECOND TESTIMONY HOLE…

A TESTIMONY OF
WHAT GOSPEL?
If you don’t even understand what the Gospel is, how could you “know” it is true?
Leaders in the Church have told me that most Mormons don’t understand their own
doctrine concerning the Way of Salvation. Here is a quiz: How do you receive the
atonement so that you can be forgiven and dwell in Heavenly Father’s kingdom?
The LDS Gospel in a nutshell:
In Mormonism, to be forgiven of a par-ticular sin by the
atonement, you must successfully stop that sin permanently. In
order to be forgiven of all sin you must successfully stop all sin
permanently.
Surprised? LDS scriptures and a number of Church leaders have
confirmed this nutshell statement. Doing what is required to obtain the atonement is what
it is all about. All other things are merely “appendages” to the Gospel according to Elder
Jeffrey Holland. The Church teaches that obtaining “the atonement of Christ” is “by
obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel.” (3rd Article of Faith)
D&C 1:31-32 “For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance;
Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven”
D&C 82:7 "Go your ways and sin no more; but unto that soul who sinneth shall the
former sins return, saith the Lord your God."
We all need the remission of sins by the blood of Christ to be cleansed perfectly and thus
become “holy, without spot” as it says in Moroni 10:33. So how does a baptized Mormon
get that forgiveness so desperately needed? According to the Book of Mormon, two
conditions are spelled out in verse 32 for obtaining this perfect remission of sins:
Moroni 10:32 "Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and {1} deny yourselves
of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and {2} love God
with all your might, mind and strength [the most important and all-encompassing
commandment], then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in
Christ…”

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THE THIRD BIG HOLE IN YOUR TESTIMONY

YOU AREN’T DOING IT

The children of Israel had a testimony of the Ten Commandments. Did they obey them?
You have this very same credibility problem as well: Your testimony does not mean a
“hill of beans” because you do not follow your own gospel. You fail to do what your
testimony says to do. That makes your testimony utterly worthless. Your Gospel says:
D&C 1:31-32 “For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance;
Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven”
D&C 18:46 "And after that you have received this, if you keep not my commandments
you cannot be saved in the kingdom of my Father"
D&C 25:15 "Keep my commandments continually, and a crown of righteousness thou
shalt receive. And except thou do this, where I am you cannot come."
D&C 76:52 “That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed
from all their sins...”
Jesus expanded our understanding of sin. It goes far beyond just the easy ones, but it is
the deep, difficult, sins that concern Him:
Matthew 5:20,27-30 "For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the
righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of
heaven... Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit
adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath
committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it
out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should
perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend
thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members
should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell."
Have you really done all that you can do?
Matthew 19:21 "Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast,
and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me."
Again, have you done all that you can do? I don’t think so. Not even close. You are
required to repent of difficult sins, not just easy sins. This means all the sins of the
heart—such as selfishness, pride, impure thoughts, unkind thoughts, impatience, envy,
jealousy, etc.
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COMMON OBJECTION: “But I’ll be saved after all I can do.”
[loud buzzer sound] Wrong! 2 Nephi 25:23 says grace comes “after all we can do,” but
you have already failed. Suppose you were running in a marathon race, but shortly after
the race began, you stopped and sat down in a recliner for couple of minutes and thumbed
through a newspaper. After two minutes you started running again furiously. Could you
ever claim that you did all you could do to win? Of course not—no matter how hard you
tried thereafter. “All” means all. Even the best of us relaxes occasionally, and everyone
has moments of selfishness. You could have prayed more today, but you didn’t do it.
You have missed many opportunities to help people, and many opportunities to do good,
but you didn’t do what you are capable of doing; and no matter how diligent you may be
from this point forward, you have already missed any possibility of doing “all.”
But it gets worse, because God gives no commandment that you cannot keep. So you are
lying when you claim to be trying your best. Otherwise, why do you continue to sin?
And then you lie about your inadequate effort! The fact is that no one does all they can
do. Not one. Certainly you “can” cut off your hand or pluck out your eye, or sell
everything you have to give it to the poor, but you do not. So stop pretending.
Spencer W. Kimball, Repentance Brings Forgiveness (tract): "If the sinner neglects his
tithing, misses his meetings, breaks the Sabbath, or fails in his prayers and other
responsibilities, he is not completely repentant."
Spencer W. Kimball, Miracle of Forgiveness, p.95,97: "Shirking of responsibility in the
kingdom, brings inevitable condemnation... Declining to serve when called may constitute
a sin of omission... if one merely lounges about doing nothing on the Sabbath, he is
breaking it..."

COMMON OBJECTION: “Repentance is a daily process. I repent every day.”

[loud buzzer sound] Wrong! If you repent often, then it means you are not really
repenting at all. There are only a few categories of sin. Choose the right (CTR). Don’t
keep saying that you are repenting when you continue to sin. You are like the smoker
who said, “It is easy to quit smoking. I’ve done it hundreds of times.” You are repenting
or you are repeating. Which is it? Consider what Joseph Smith said about this:
Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Three 1838-39, p.148
“Repentance is a thing that cannot be trifled with every day. Daily transgression and daily
repentance is not that which is pleasing in the sight of God.”

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Alma 5:27-32 "Have ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God? Could ye
say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently
humble? That your garments have been cleansed...? Behold, are ye stripped of pride? I
say unto you, if ye are not ye are not prepared to meet God. Behold ye must prepare
quickly; for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand, and such an one hath not eternal life.
Behold, I say, is there one among you who is not stripped of envy? I say unto you that
such an one is not prepared; and I would that he should prepare quickly, for the hour is
close at hand, and he knoweth not when the time shall come; for such an one is not found
guiltless."
Proverbs 23:7 "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..."

COMMON OBJECTION: “But that is where the atonement comes in!”

[loud buzzer sound] Wrong! The atonement “comes in” after all you can do, not before.
Forgiveness of sins is granted after you repent, not before. The very issue we are talking
about is how to receive the atonement, not how to use the atonement to get something
else. The way to appropriate that grace is to stop sinning (besides merely the easy steps of
your intellectual faith and performing some ordinances).
The Book of Mormon, Alma 11:37 says: “I say unto you again that he cannot save them
in their sins; for I cannot deny his word, and he hath said that no unclean thing can inherit
the kingdom of heaven…”

I once spoke with an LDS mission president about the nutshell statement:
In Mormonism, to be forgiven of a par-ticular sin by the
atonement, you must successfully stop that sin permanently. In
order to be forgiven of all sin you must successfully stop all sin
permanently.

He agreed that as a Mormon this teaching left him feeling hopeless for many years.
I asked, “Really? President, how did you solve your problem of hopelessness.”
He stuttered and stammered for a full minute, and then said, “Well I just don’t think about it any
more.”

A testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ is wonderful, but you need a real testimony.

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Did your revelation message from the Holy Ghost inform you which prophet or group was
true? In your revelation did the message spell out the name of the prophet, or the name of
the church group? If your testimony was simply a feeling in your heart, then I must ask:
How did you interpret the feeling? How does a Brigham Young feeling differ from a
Warren Jeffs feeling and a Jim Harmiston feeling? Aren’t these fair questions for a
person who claims to testify about a divine revelation? Or will you admit that your
testimony does not answer these questions? You are making a lot of assumptions. Do
you actually know anything at all???

A testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ is wonderful, but you need a real testimony.

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There have been virtually no prophecies claimed by Mormon prophets since the days of
Brigham Young. Yet Mormons persist in referring to the current president as a “living
prophet.” Some will mention Wilford Woodruff’s Manifesto regarding polygamy policy,
or Spencer W Kimball’s granting of priesthood to black members. However, even in
these rare cases, we were allowed to see no text of the actual words of God given. If there
actually was a revelation, no one knows what God actually said. Instead, we have but
press releases given out to the public to stem the respective controversies.
This point is illustrated by the following transcript from the 1904 Reed Smoot hearings
before the United States Senate, in which Prophet Joseph F Smith was questioned under
oath (Reed Smoot Case, Vol. I, pp. 483-484, 1904):
Senator Dubois: Have you received any revelations from God, which has been submitted
by you and the apostles to the body of the church in their semiannual conference, which
revelation has been sustained by that conference, through the upholding of their hands?
President Joseph F Smith: Since when?
Senator Dubois: Since you became President of the church?
President Joseph F Smith: No sir; None whatever.
None whatever? Is this your testimony—that you have a living prophet who has received
no revelations? “None whatever?”
Why no prophecies? Because the Bible commands us to test prophets to be sure that they
are of God using several tests. Those tests will rather quickly demonstrate when a
prophecy is false. Joseph Smith was a rare president who went out on a limb, and was
caught giving false prophecies.* So today’s LDS presidents seem to simply choose not to
go out on a limb at all. You see, God never gets the details wrong, and never makes a
mistake—so it only takes one failed test to expose a false prophet. Don’t expect any new
scripture from your “living prophet” any time soon. He is, after all, an intelligent man.

A testimony is wonderful, but you need a real testimony.

*See [Link] for many examples.

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If there are further instructions on de-coding a more complicated message, then any
feeling translation rules need to be very clear. Why? Because claiming to speak for God
is not a thing to be trifled with. (The Old Testament penalty was death.) So if you
received details—for example, such as whether Brigham Young was correct, or Warren
Jeffs was correct—then I would have to assume that you could provide documentation, or
some other basis, for being sure of your translation of presumed Holy-Ghost-feelings.
No?
However, there is a more fundamental problem. Where in the Bible does it ever say that
feelings are the way God communicates with us?
On the contrary…
Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can
know it?”
This warning would seem to be telling us not to trust our feelings at all, since the desire of
our heart will always color the message we hope to be receiving.
So the issue of how you interpreted your claimed revelation and testimony will not stand
under the least scrutiny. Yes, you may have felt good about Mormonism, but that would
be the very most you have any right to claim, if you are honest. Anyone evaluating your
testimony might easily wonder whether you didn’t make the message say exactly what
you wanted it to say.
Are you sure you didn’t make the message say exactly what you wanted it to say?

A testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ is wonderful, but you need to be sure you
got it right. Feelings are unreliable.

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A TESTIMONY OF THE GOSPEL
OF JESUS CHRIST IS WONDERFUL, BUT…

YOU NEED A REAL TESTIMONY

My life has been transformed by the truth that I discovered. I want for you, my dear LDS
friend, to have the burden of your guilty stains lifted from you, and to receive the
forgiveness of all your sins for time and all eternity, and to discover the incredible joy that
I have found. I testify to you about that which I know, and that which I have experienced,
so my testimony will hold up under scrutiny.

I also testify to you about whom I know: the one Creator-King, the Most High God,
Jesus, the self-existent “I Am,” the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Holy One
who is a consuming fire, the living God who was dead but now alive, the Almighty
Creator and Sustainer who stands outside the cosmos and holds the cosmic cube in the
palm of his hand, yet intervened inside the cosmos by emptying Himself of His infinite
attributes and becoming a finite “Son” walking among us, being tempted in all ways as we
are, yet without sin, so that He might be the perfect High Priest offering the perfect
sacrifice of His own blood unto death, perfectly paying the penalty for my sin nature;
thereby earning the right to forgive all sin (including murder, by the way). Indeed He has
authority to pardon sins, and wash my record book “white as snow.”

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I testify to you that I know that I, personally, have been forgiven of all my sins for time
and all eternity, and that I indeed have eternal life which has already begun. My record
book in heaven is washed white as snow. He has removed my sins, both past and future
sins, as far away as the east is from the west. I will spend eternity in Heavenly Father’s
kingdom. I know this as surely as I’m standing here today. I know it not because of a
fleeting feeling, nor because of good works on my part for I am a sinner saved by grace,
but rather on the authority of the Word of God and His unfailing promise. I have faith in
that promise, and faith is the substance of things hoped for.

2 Timothy 1:12 “…for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to
keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”
Hebrews 10:23 “…for he is faithful that promised”

I know that I am completely forgiven and clean.

In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

WOULDN’T IT BE WONDERFUL TO HAVE A

ROCK-SOLID TESTIMONY LIKE THAT?
YOU CAN. IT IS VERY NEAR YOU.

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Sin is too serious, and God is too holy.
Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy
rags…”
Isaiah 6:5 “Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips,
and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the
LORD of hosts.”

Mercy cannot rob justice, so Jesus paid the full penalty of justice in your place upon the
cross.
2 Corinthians 5:21 “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin…”
Colossians 2:13-14 “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your
flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; blotting
out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took
it out of the way, nailing it to his cross”

Because of that payment, Jesus has authority to forgive all your sins.
Luke 7:48-50 “And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with
him began to say within themselves, who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to
the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.”

The word "repent" means simply to turn.

Mark 1:15 “…The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and
believe the gospel.”
Acts 20:21,24 “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance [turning]
toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. …to testify the gospel of the grace of
God.”

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Ironically, it is the "no strings" love of Jesus that will cause the most powerful works of
gratitude to flow from you in response thereafter.
1 John 4:19 “We love him, because he first loved us.”
Luke 7:47 “Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she
loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.”
Matthew 22:37-38 “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great
commandment.”
Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it
is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should
walk in them.”

The Most High God is offering you forgiveness as an undeserved gift.

Titus 3:5-7 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his
mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by
his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

Do you have enough faith to say, "Yes," and mean it?

Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you do, the adventure begins!

John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of
God, even to them that believe on his name”

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THEN WHAT DO I NEED TO DO?
STEP 1:
Make a decision, a real one, a permanent one—to trust the promise of God, to believe the
good news (gospel) just spelled out from the Bible. In other words, say “yes” to His offer
of forgiveness, and mean it. It is that simple. Tell Him of your choice to trust Him in a
prayer. Say something like, “Lord, I confess that I’m a sinner, and I want to be saved
from my sins. I trust in what you did on the cross to pay for all my sins forever.” Your
exact words are not important, but you must mean it. He knows if this is a real choice.

…That’s all. There are no other steps. Then just watch what happens! If you really chose to
believe, you won’t have any spiritual manifestations or special feelings. You will just know
by faith that you are clean, and that you are now seen by God as worthy to dwell with God. It
is believing that saves you, not how you feel about it.
Even so, you will be flooded with emotions of joy as the reality of the love of God grips you.
The emotions follow, they don’t lead. If you have the forgiveness of sins, you have
everything. You are heir to all the treasures of heaven. If you do not have the forgiveness of
sins, you have nothing. Your priesthood or temple ceremonies, or church, mean absolutely
nothing without the assurance that your sins are forgiven forever. Yet you will find that when
you know you are forgiven, all those things will seem trivial by comparison. There is nothing
between you and your Creator any longer. The war is over. The wall has fallen. The
intimacy of relationship begins for real this time. You just became a Christian in the true
sense of the word. You have been born again into the family of God and you have just
become a true child of God for the first time.
One change that will begin to happen is that you will want to honor God as never before.
Delight yourself in Him, and see your good works begin to flow. Yet your motives will be
purified, because you are not striving to make points, but rather to honor Him out of
thanksgiving. (You already have all the points you need. They were a gift!) As Jesus said,
“Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

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This is your assurance:

1 John 5:12-13 “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath
not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God;
that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the
name of the Son of God.”

John 6:47 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”

For more information visit

[Link]
Or write: Mark D Champneys
mark@[Link]
Hope For Mormons Ministries
P.O. Box 5334
Tacoma, WA 98415

Ver. 2010-04-02
© Mark D Champneys 2010

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