Timothy Carr

Editor’s note: The following is from a speech by a self-professed Christian —a speech which Timothy Carr, the Rapture Ready contributor, addresses below in an email. The reply was to a previous email that was in answer to Carr’s initial query concerning the speech at Brigham Young University.

The following introduction of the speaker and the speech, whose excerpts follow, are posted on http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=13579&x=67&y=12

Mark DeMoss was an author and founder of The DeMoss Group
when this forum address was delivered on 24 January 2012.

I’ve always wanted to visit Brigham Young University. Most of you were still in high school when Jerry Falwell went to heaven five years ago. Jerry founded Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, 40 years ago, and in 1980 I went to Liberty, where I played football for four years as a placekicker.

Since the earliest days of Liberty University, Jerry famously and repeatedly declared, “I want Liberty University to be for the evangelical young person what Notre Dame is for the Catholic and Brigham Young is for the Mormon—a world-class university.” Well, God gave him enough years to see that dream largely realized…

Incidentally, the last time I was in this state was in September, when I spent a day traveling with Mitt Romney and his personal aide, a young University of Mississippi graduate named Garrett. Mitt told me about a previous trip in Utah during which a man came up to Garrett after an event and, making an assumption, asked, “So, where did you do your mission?”

Not missing a beat, Garrett replied, “I’m a Southern Baptist—I’m on my mission.”

As an evangelical Christian, I was well aware of doctrinal differences between your faith and mine. But once I decided to help Mitt Romney, I began to see an all-too-ugly side of a theological divide. Sadly, far too much of the ugliness—though certainly not all of it—came from within my own camp…

So I decided to launch a civility project. I bought the appropriate domain addresses and began to develop a plan and a website. I wrote a simple three-point pledge, which I thought anyone in this country could agree to, regardless of political or religious affiliation…

I will not attempt to speak for your church, but I will speak for and to mine: It is never an option to claim Jesus Christ as Savior and behave in an uncivil manner with anyone, under any circumstance. Never.

I pray I will be known for speech seasoned with grace, for regarding others as more important than myself, and for doing everything in love. In these days of political divisiveness, I urge all of us to defer to what Abraham Lincoln described in his first inaugural address as “the better angels of our nature.”…

Would you now receive this benediction honoring God?

Mr. Demoss, thank you for your reply and for the transcript of your speech. I read it.

My iPad does not allow me to copy and paste sections from your moving and touching speech, but that is just as well. In the end, I have taken issue with so much of what you say and the implied subtext of it all that any attempt to itemize my disagreements with your position would result in a letter that would take days to compose due to its length. Sadly, I haven't the time or health for that, so I shall do my best to summarize my position based on the full transcript of your speech. Safe to say, I have the same reaction to your speech today that I did weeks ago when I read your editorial piece entitled True Christians don’t demonize Mormons, Obama.

In reading the entire transcript of your speech, it is clear to me that you are quite obviously offering both an Olive Branch as well as an accompanying apology to the Mormon Church on behalf of the Body of Christ. Additionally, it seems as if you have all but denounced your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

Let me assure you that I would never defend the verbal abuse of anyone based on their beliefs, Mormon or otherwise. That having been said, neither would I identify Mormonism as anything other than what it is: a cult.

The fact that Mormons are beautiful people, full of love and glistening white smiles, is comforting. But if we can get past the feel-good warmth of the veneer long enough to peer into the details of the Mormon faith, there is but one conclusion that can be drawn.

The historical and biblical evidence that stacks up against Mormonism is as voluminous as it is irrefutable. The lack of archeological evidence alone testifies as to the shakiness of the authenticity of its claims. Need I also point out the numerous departures from the Scriptures in the Book of Mormon to make the case that the Mormon faith preaches another Christ?

How is it that you do not understand the truth of Mormonism? Or, perhaps you understand it but you are afraid to speak out against it for political reasons. Can you not see why I or anyone else adhering to basic biblical doctrine would have a problem with your treatment of Mormon doctrine?

More to the point, setting all politics aside for the moment, how is it that you do not appreciate the need to testify to the truth of Mormonism in order to make disciples out of the many people being led into hell by this belief system? This simply baffles me.

We who are called by Christ have a sworn and loving obligation to proclaim the Gospel to a lost world, and to proclaim it unadulterated, unfettered, unfiltered and unaltered by societal pressures, dripping feel-good sentimentality or political ambition.

Between the speech you gave at Brigham Young and your column, it becomes clear to me at least that you denounce any and all Christians who would viscerally oppose Obama, Romney and Adams on the basis of their faith. In essence, you label their critics as phonies, wolves in sheep's clothing, and hypocrites . To be fair, those are not the actual words you use, They are my words. However, I challenge you or anyone else, to read this transcript and conclude anything else. Your position is undeniable. So, yes, I have a problem with that.

While the hateful rhetoric coming from some evangelical circles is far from Christ like, it is nevertheless correct in its position. You have chosen to shoot both the messenger and the message, and all in the name of political expediency and "social justice". Truth should never take a back seat to political expediency or social acceptance.

The truth of Mormonism is an uncomfortable one for you. I understand that. And while you are within your rights to disagree with critics of the Mormon faith, it is quite another to suggest that anyone who is critical of the faith is not a Christian. Furthermore, it is one thing to to take issue with the way in which evangelicals are speaking, but quite another to suggest that what is being said is not true because of the tone of the message or simply because you disagree with it. As the saying goes, "You are entitled to your own opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts."

Simply put, Mormonism is a false religion that is appropriating the name of Jesus Christ in order to purport itself as the true Gospel. It is my opinion that you are compromising your ideals and your commitment to Christ in your refusal to identify Mormonism for what it is. When given the opportunity to do so on such a large stage and in front of so many people, I can understand wilting under the pressure of not wanting to offend so many people, but trust me when I tell you that anyone standing on the authority of God's Word, who is ministering in true Love and temperance, has no reason to fear offending the Master. Shouldn't that be your concern, and didn't Jesus caution us about being ashamed of His name and refusing to publicly profess who He is? By refusing to denounce Mormonism, as harsh as that seems, you have distanced yourself from Christ, have you not? In doing so, you have given your tacit approval of the Mormon faith, and in doing so you have trampled on the very Word of God itself.

In other words, Mr. DeMoss, someone with your training should be able to recognize a false doctrine when you see it and, having identified it as such, one would expect someone with your background to lovingly testify against it by calling it what it is. You have failed to do this. Moreover, you have failed to shine any semblance of the light of Truth on Mormonism in an effort to distinguish it from the True Gospel of Jesus Christ. In reading your transcript, it is obvious to me that you see no such distinction between the two, or at the very least you see no distinction in terms of principles and doctrine, but only in terminology. This is dangerous.

That you are positioning yourself as a spokesmen on my behalf is, in my view, unacceptable. Rest assured, you do not speak for me any more than the man currently occupying the office of president speaks for me when he and wife globe-trot around the world apologizing for America on my behalf.

In closing, I wish to say two things. First, as an Ambassador for Christ, you had a grand opportunity and a moral duty when you took the podium at Brigham Young University, to boldly and lovingly proclaim the name of Christ and the Gospel. You did not do that. Instead, you chose to embrace Mormonism and proclaim them as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. From the standpoint of Humanists the world over, I am sure this was perceived as a very caring and civil gesture. However, from the standpoint of Our Lord and Savior, and from the standpoint of the Gospel, I have to say that you failed in your obligation as an Ambassador for Christ.

Second, have said the above I find myself wanting when confronted with the reality of how I would have perform had I been in your shoes on that day. The pressure, I imagine, must have been tremendous. I confess that I might very likely have wilted under the pressure myself (I say I "might" have...but knowing me and my tendency to be blunt, I might also have risen to the occasion). For anyone to get wobbly in the knees in a situation like that might be understandable were it not for the reality of Holy Spirit, which most certainly would have compelled you to speak the Truth at any cost had you been obedient to that call.

That aside, while I am compelled to have compassion on you for punting the ball as it were, I have no such compassion for your obvious betrayal of your brothers and sisters in Christ who clearly DO have the courage and moral fervor to speak boldly regarding the Gospel and who have the courage to call Mormonism what it is. For you to chastise those who are obedient to God's Word and who want to uphold the integrity of the Christian faith Is troubling and perhaps even shameful.

We live in perilous times Mr. DeMoss. We are at the apex of prophetic history. The culmination of all that our Creator has been doing for thousands of years is on a horizon which is fast approaching. Now is not the time to mince words or water down the Gospel. Now is not the time to confuse the Gospel with other faiths. Now is not the time to court other faiths. Now is the time for Christians to take a bold stand for the sake of Christ and the Gospel in order that we might distinguish His name and our faith from all other faiths masquerading behind His name. All of this needs to be done in Love and in Temperance, which are fruits of the Spirit, but it needs to be done.

Out of curiosity, what do you think Christ our Lord would say about Mormonism?

Sincerely,

Timothy Carr