I have been trying to reach a Mormon I work with and have your site absolutely wonderful and full of information. One thing I noticed is they come to belief kinda backwards from us Christians. They read the Book of Mormon and then are supposed to pray and ask for the truth. It all looks good, pray to the Father in Christ's name for truth, why does it seem the prayer is answered by Satan and not God? Is there something in the prayer that directs it to Satan?

Thank you,

Larry

It isn't that Satan does or does not answer their prayer as it is that their approach to truth is wrong. Hearing something from God is not as easy as it might be thought.

When we pray to God to give us an answer, we need to know what questions to ask. And we need to known how to judge the answer. False prophets, the Bible tells us, abound. How many Muslims have prayed and asked if the Koran is "true"? (About a billion.) And they believe that God told them that book is sacred.

How many people have fallen victim to men like Jim Jones based on their "spiritual discernment" that such a person is a "man of God" who has answers for them? Many such deceived people have prayed countless hours to know whether they should follow a particular guru or spiritual leader or spiritual discipline.

But spiritual truth is not discovered by saying "Is Jim Jones a prophet?" or "is the Koran the word of God?" Rather, we look at the words of the prophet, or the words of the so-called book of scripture and find out if they are consistent with what we already know about God.

When we approach the discovery of spiritual truth properly we will find truth. When we "dive bomb" for answers we are often misled.

So, Larry, it is the assumption that we may discover whether or not the Book of Mormon is by throwing up a prayer and waiting for a spiritual experience. It is not that simple.

A better question to ask might be, "Is there any evidence that the Book of Mormon teachings are true?" Or, "Is the Book of Mormon consistent with other truth, or even with itself?" Or, "Is the Book of Mormon full of silliness, obvious falsehood, and unbelievable fabrications?"

If I were choosing a medical doctor, I would want someone who could present to me a good reason to believe he knew a lot about human physiology. I would not simply walk down the street and pray about who I should have take out my appendix.

So why should I allow someone to "touch my soul" based on a good or bad feeling I get after I think about it? How can I be sure that the "feeling" I get really is from God? What makes me think that God will answer a prayer fashioned is such a manner? Am I to tell God that He must respond to my questions by making me feel good or bad? Perhaps I should first ask God to teach me how to find out about Him.

Should I simply ask God, "Shall I marry such and such a woman?" Or should I first find out if she is already married, might be compatible with me, has similar beliefs as I do, is not a psychopath, has eleven children from other marriages, etc."

Seeking spiritual truth by such "test case questions," without further religious preparation and background is nothing more than divination. God tells us that if we would know His ways, we must know Him. The Mormon formulation for discovering if the Book of Mormon is true or not is a formula for disaster. No one should join a religious organization, pick a mate, buy a house, or enter any other important transaction solely based upon a test question. The possibility of "missing God" is too high.

The Bible says "There is a way which seems right to a man, but the end thereof is destruction." (Proverbs 14.12 & 16.25) The Bible says "False prophets shall arise and deceive many." (Matt. 24.11)

So, it behooves us to make certain when we search for truth, we don't take any shortcuts that could open us up to making serious spiritual mistakes.

Jim