Dear Friends, September 19, 2009
Thank you again for praying for God's work here. Because of the freedom USU has given us, we plan to be on the Plaza all day every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday preaching to the crowds of students and giving away free books at our table, as long as the weather holds. In the first two weeks, days have been long, usually 10 to 6. The second Tuesday was forecast to be rainy—after a very rainy Monday—and so we thought to plan to not go. One brother, whose wife was to cover Oasis in our absence, said that we ought to plan to go and he would pray. The weather cleared early in the morning and not a drop of rain fell on the books as the Lord provided many good conversations. One man has told us that Logan is forecast to have a long fall. May the Lord make it so, even into November. Mormons are gripped by a vision of Christ as a lawgiver. Martin Luther said that his greatest temptation was to see Christ as a lawgiver rather than to see Him as “nothing but joy and sweetness to a trembling and broken heart.” Please pray that the Lord would give us such a vision of His grace that all the saints who join us would model His grace, and joyously speak of the need of His grace and of the glorious riches of His grace.
A young freshman, ____, came by the table to talk. He had read our article on witnessing to Mormons and said it was not working for him. He said that he wants to witness but can't stand to listen to Mormons because he grew up a Christian in the Salt Lake City area and has already had as much of their message as he can take. I encouraged him to confess his sin of lack of love quickly whenever it surfaces, to pray often for God to fill him with love for the Mormons who surround him, and to expect God to answer. Over the years, many believers here have expressed to me that they have difficulty in loving Mormons. Please pray for the Lord to give us saints in Utah such a vision of His love for us that we would become marked by love for one another and for the Mormons who surround us. Specifically pray this for the brother above, who wants to learn this.
Last year a Mormon student, Laura, spent much time with us discussing righteousness and grace. On our second day on campus this month, she came by the book table, interrupted a conversation and declared that if there is any truth available, it was to be found at this table. She mentioned that she was leaving school due to unknown medical problems, and later laughingly stated that she would probably return from California a “born-again evangelical.” She seems ready to become a Christian but left town so suddenly that we did not get another conversation with her. Pray for God to heal her as a testimony of His grace. We plan to write her a letter soon encouraging her from death to life. The conversation that Laura interrupted was with Shelly, a quiet Mormon freshman, who in the two weeks since first leaving home, had decided to leave Mormonism. She mentioned seeking to evaluate which parts of her religion to keep and which to discard. She was smiling as she held her free books to her chest. Pray for God to draw her to Himself and to bring her back by the table when there is freedom to talk. Sometimes there are so many Mormons around the table desiring conversation, that conversations don't get finished.
As Eli preaches to the crowds, it is interesting to notice many students who are back day after day to ask more questions or simply to listen. Mormon questions are usually about faith, repentance and good works. Students hang around the plaza for hours listening while reading their books or waiting for class. Sometimes the students sit in a semicircle around him and the white board. Wonderful relationships are developing. On Thursday a “regular” Mormon was there when a “new” Mormon asked the common question, “What is faith?” The “regular” spoke up and said that he would answer it. He accurately told Eli's illustration of faith, which Mormons don't believe. It seems that walls are coming down and hearts are warming. Many Mormons thank Eli for having the courage to share his beliefs. Some return and apologize for having been judgmental or unkind toward him. Mormons are developing relationships with each other as they discuss heartfelt issues with us. May God use this to make them willing to be in Bible study together with Christians. Here are a few of the unbelievers who come by nearly everyday to talk or listen: Ben, Lucinda, Harvey, Shawn, Mike, Aaron, John, and Jordan.
Chris, a new student and recent convert to Mormonism, came by the table after listening to Eli preach. He had tried to speak with Eli, but there were too many people. He looked troubled and asked if there was any way he could speak with one of us. He told me his story about being a born-again Christian in California for nine years before becoming a Mormon—yes for a woman but also for himself. It was crowded. He went back to try Eli and then came back to the table and took our card. It appeared to me that he was discovering that Mormonism was not what he had thought. Pray for him to return.
Hussein, from Saudi Arabia came by the table and asked for an Arabic Bible. The following week he returned to get the Bible and eagerly listened as I encouraged him to read the Gospel of John, Acts and Romans. Last year he had taken an NIV NT among other materials, and we had had good conversation about sin and redemption. Other Saudi's have taken books or had conversation.
As Isaac, a Mormon and a regular from last year, and I talked about “how good is good enough” over the table, Rich, a fellow sitting nearby and listening, was drawn into the conversation. After Isaac left, Rich agreed that the harder he has tried the worse he has gotten. He had become guilt ridden in noticing that he can't change. Repentance without works was a pleasant surprise and he was glad to hear about free grace. He seems close to the kingdom. Please pray for him.
Shawn, a young Mormon student, who is openly homosexual, hangs around much listening to Eli preach, talking with me at the table, or listening to our conversations. We give him clear words about sin, righteousness and grace, and show him much kindness. He has frequently criticized all Christians and Mormons for picking on and being mean to homosexuals. I finally asked him if he thought Eli and I were like that. He said we were not, but the others were, so he could still criticize. It finally came out that his criticism of us is that he wants people to get to heaven by trying to be good. I told him that this is his only big sin and the only one he should worry about. Finally we had to go and he said he would continue the conversation on Tuesday. He had hoped we would be back sooner.
This morning while going door-to-door, we visited with Annie, who invited us in to give her the good person test. She was in town visiting her cousin. She is a freshman at BYU, where Christian evangelism is banned on campus and against the honor code. She saw her sin and did not fight against grace as most Mormons do. She gladly took the dollar as a gift and eagerly took All of Grace by Spurgeon. I told her that if she likes the book and wants copies for friends to contact us and we will gladly send them for free. I encouraged her to be honest with her Utah-Mormon friends about her sins because it would help them resist the social pressure to the pretenses that they have grown up with. She appreciated that. Pray for the Lord to save her soon and make her a bright light in that very dark place. At BYU conversion is probably still punished by expulsion.
INSIGHT:
IN MORMONISM: Repentance is a process that includes works and really is mostly works—the striving to be sincere, to stop all sins and to perfectly obey all God's commandments. Mormons are so gripped by this thinking that they cannot imagine anyone believing anything except a weaker version of it.
IN THE BIBLE: Repentance does not include works. Good works and a changed life are the fruit of repentance. Christ purifies sinners completely and makes them then zealous for good works (Titus 2:14). This way excludes pride (Eph 2:9) and makes salvation to be solely to the praise of the glory of His grace (Eph 1:6). We have found that conversations with Mormons are helped by explaining simply and clearly that the New Testament teaches a repentance that excludes works. Use the word “works” often with Mormons as it is an important word to them.
Thank you for your prayers.
In our faithful Lord Jesus Christ,
Brad Scheelke
Logan Utah
oasisbooks.blogspot.com
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