Archive Section II
13
A GERMAN THEOLOGIAN CONVERTS
TO THE MORMON CHURCH
by Scott Anderson & Clare Gregory
As written by Scott Anderson in his journal
We had an unexpected moment in the mission field. We knocked on a door and a
lady said something to us we had never heard, "Come in." Now remember, I was
a German missionary. This never happened to us; not even the members would
say that to us. At this point suddenly this dear lady invited us in.
My companion said, "Do you know who we are?" "You want to talk about
religion, don't you?" she said. "Yes, we do" explained my companion. "Oh,
come in. I've been watching you walk around the neighborhood. I'm so excited
to have you here. Please come into my study." We went in and seated ourselves
and she sat down
behind the desk.
She looked at us with a smile, then pointed to three PHD's hanging over her
head. One in Theology, the study of religion, one in Philosophy, the study of
ideas, and one in European History specializing in Christianity.
She then kind of rubbed her hands together and said, "Do you see this row of
books here?" We looked at a well arranged row of books. She then said, "I
wrote them all. I'm the Theology professor at the University of Munich. I've
been doing this for 41 years. I love to talk about religion. What would you
like to discuss?" My inspired companion said we'd like to talk about the
Book of Mormon. She said, "I don't know anything about the Book of Mormon."
He said, "I know." Twenty minutes later we walked out of the room. We had
handed her a Book of Mormon and this trade off that we had been on was over.
I didn't see this lady again for another eight and a half weeks.
It was in a small room filled with people (when I saw her again), as she was
standing in the front dressed in white. This Theology professor at the
University of Munich was well known throughout Southern Germany. She stood up
in front of this small congregation of people and said, "Before I'm baptized
I'd like to tell you my feelings. In Amos chapter 8:11 it says there will be
a famine of the work of God. I've been in that famine for 76 years. Why do
you think I have three PHD's? I've been hungering for truth and have been
unable to find it. Then eight and one-half weeks ago, two boys walked into my
home. I want you to know these boys are very nice and wonderful young men,
but they didn't convert me. They couldn't; they don't know enough." And then
she smiled and said, "but since the day they walked
in my door I have read the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the
Pearl of Great Price, all of Talmage's great writings, Evidence and
Reconciliations by John A. Widtsoe and 22 other volumes of church doctrine."
She then said something which I think is a challenge for every one of us
here. She said, "I
don't think you members know what you have."
Then in her quiet, powerful way, she said, "After those years of studying
philosophy, I picked up the D&C and read a few little verses that answered
some of the greatest questions of Aristotle and Socrates! When I read those
verses, I wept for four hours."
Then she said again, "I don't think you members know what you have. Don't
you understand the world is in a famine? Don't you know we are starving for
what you have? I am like a starving person being led to a feast. And over
these eight and one-half weeks I have been able to feast in a way I have
never known possible."
Her powerful message and her challenging question was then ended with her
favorite scripture, "For you don't see the truth can make you free." She
said, "these missionaries don't just carry membership in the church in their
hands, they carry within their hand the power to make the atonement of Jesus
Christ full force
in my life. Today I'm going into the water and I'm going to make a covenant
with Christ for the first time with proper authority. I've wanted to do this
all my life." None of us will forget the day that she was baptized. When she
got finished being
baptized, she got back out and before she received the Holy Ghost, she stood
and said, "Now I would like to talk about the Holy Ghost for awhile." She
then gave us a wonderful talk about the gift of the Holy Ghost.
(later in Elder Anderson's journal)
Two young missionaries, both relatively new, (one had been out about five
months, the other three weeks) accidentally knocked on the door of the
seminary in Reagansburg. 125 wonderful men were studying to become priests
inside. They didn't realize this was the door they had knocked on because it
looked like any other door. They were invited in. In somewhat of a panic, the
man said,
"I am sorry we just don't have time right now." The two missionaries were
relieved, but then he said, "Would you come back next Tuesday and spend two
hours addressing all 125 of us and answer questions about your church?" They
agreed that they would, and ran down the road screaming. They made a phone
call to
the mission president and cried for help. The mission president called us
and said, "Do you think that dear lady that you have just brought in to the
church would like to come help these two missionaries with this assignment?"
I called her to explain what was to happen, and she said, "more than I would
like to eat, more than I would like to sleep, more than..." I said, "Fine,
you don't have to explain."
We drove her to the seminary and as we went in, she grabbed the two
missionaries that had originally been invited, put her arms around them and
said, "you are wonderful, young men. Would each of you spend about two
minutes bearing your testimony and then sit down and be quiet please?"
They were grateful for their assignment. They bore their testimony and then
seated themselves. Then she got up and said, "For the next 30 minutes I would
like to talk to you about historical apostasy." She knew every date and
fact. She had a
PHD in this. She talked about everything that had been taken away from the
great teachings the Savior had given, mostly organizational, in the first
part of her talk. Then the next 45 minutes was doctrinal.
She gave every point of doctrinal changes, when it happened and what had
changed. By the time she was done, she looked at them and said, "In 1820 a
boy walked into a grove of trees. He had been in a famine just like I have
been. He knelt to pray, because he was hungry just like I have been. He saw
God the Father and His Son. I know that is hard for you to believe that they
could be two separate beings, but I know they are." She shared scriptures
that showed that they were and then said, "I would like to talk about
historical restoration of truth." She then,
point by point, date by date, from the Doctrine and Covenants put back the
organizational structure of Christ's church. The last 20 minutes of her talk
were absolutely brilliant. She doctrinally put the truth back in place, point
by point, principle by principle. When she finished this profound talk, she
said, "I have been in a famine as talked about in Amos. You know that because
last year I was here teaching you." For the first time, we realized that she
was their Theology professor. She continued by saying, "Last year when I was
teaching you, I told you that I
was still in a famine. I have been led to a feast. I invite you to come."
She finished with her testimony and sat down. What happened next was hard for
me to understand. These 125 sincere, wonderful men stood and for the next 7
minutes, gave a standing ovation. By the time four minutes had gone by I was
crying. I
remember standing and looking into their eyes and seeing the tears in their
eyes too. I wondered why they were applauding after the message she had
given. I asked many of them later. They said,"to hear someone so unashamed of
the truth, to hear
someone teaching with such power, to hear someone who finally has
conviction."
The truth is what can set us free... Do we really know what we have?
An Answer
by Clare Gregory, NCCG Representative, USA
This a great story. But may I just point out a
few things? Mormonism is not about Jesus Christ
and being saved by him. It is about religion.
Those who are hungering for a "true religion"
will be attracted by Mormonism's message. It's
about "doctrine". It's about "theology". It's
about "knowledge".
All human beings want the LDS Church message to
be true...we all want one religion that is led
by prophets who are inspired, who have been
"born again" and can lead us to God. Who
wouldn't?
The problem is that Mormonism sounds true, looks
true, and smells true....but it's not. This woman
read the "Book of Mormon" and by gaining a
testimony of that book, swallowed all the rest
of the message about "priesthood authority" that
she was looking for. As a PHD in teaching other
ministers, she wanted to be in "the right religion",
the LDS Church fit the bill.
Anyone who studies history will know Chrisitianity
has moved away from the New Testament Church. Anyone
can see that there was a "famine" and apostacy
from the truth.
But a 100% apostacy and 100% restoration of
priesthood authority?
No. That goes too far...that contradicts the
Word of God that says Jesus would establish his
Kingdom and the "gates of hell would not prevail
against it". (Matt 16:19-21)
Religions are of men and God. Salavation and eternal life
is of God alone.
This woman, with her PHDs teaching ministers about
"her religion" missed the whole message of Jesus
in her studies, but rather, was starving for
"a religion" to fill the void in her heart.
Mormonism fit that need and filled the void.
Joseph Smith started the questioning and assumption
that there should be a "true religion", and
God let the Nephilim answer the desires of his
heart.
Too bad it's not the truth.
In Amos, the famine in the Land was "hearing of the Word
of God"...not the lack of priesthood authority.
It is the lack of prophetic visions and revelation,
not the priesthood. Indeed, Amos in the same
book says that God will do nothing except he
reveals his secrets to he servants the prophets.
The NCCG has those prophetic gifts today...and the LDS Church? Well,
when was the last time anyone received a first
person revelation--thus saith the Lord--from the LDS
prophets?
Case closed.
And Joseph Smith? He got it half right. He
was a Saul or Solomon, not a Moses. So he got us part way
to the truth, but the was diverted from the truth.
Finally, the LDS lap up stories like this like
honey, for it "testifies" of the truth of
"Mormonism" or the "true Church".
But where is the message of Jesus in any of this?
Religion and priesthood become "God", and the
loving Savior takes second place to theology.
People fall in love with "religion" and the
"true church", with all of the man-made programs,
and they substitute this for the Love of God that
should be in them.
Momonism is a source of security and love, and members
will find strength in their "unity of thought".
But in the end, their hopes will be blasted as
time reveals the priesthood is false, the temple
is false, and the plan of salvation of eternal
progression is false.
In the END, ONLY JESUS CHRIST stands as God. The
FULNESS OF THE GODHEAD IS IN HIM ALONE.
Praise be his name!
Clare Gregory
This page was created on 5 May 1999
Updated on 10 March 2001
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