International Church Of The Foursquare Gospel Puns

COTH has published its own financial small group curriculum, found at the link below. It clearly shows the church’s belief in the prosperity gospel. Additionally, it clearly states that one’s money is “cursed,” a questionable theology that has no biblical basis.

They also teach major untruths about tithing, copied and pasted below. And to top it off, there’s the opinion that giving to someone’s physical needs is secondary to their salvation. This opinion allows them to believe that giving to a multimillion-dollar corporation, Church of the Highlands, is better than directly supporting charitable organizations who are actually helping people in need.

Passages below have been copied and pasted; the full booklet is available at the bottom of the post.

—————— What’s really great is that the more faithful we are in distributing those blessings to others, the more faithful He is to distribute more blessings to us.

THE CURSE ON MONEY In order to understand the curse on money you have to understand that all money is subject to a ruling spirit. When we have the right heart and understanding towards money, we choose to submit it to the Spirit of God and to His will. We recognize all blessings come from God and we worship Him instead of the money or resources He gives us. Money that is subject to the Spirit of God multiplies and doesn’t have ownership over us. On the other hand, money that isn’t submitting to the rule of God in our lives, by default, is subject to the Spirit of Mammon. Therefore, money is, by default, subject to a curse.

The goal of this Small Group is that we would all grow in our understanding of money and be free from the curse. We want to steward God’s resources, not be owned by our money. This does not mean that money is inherently evil. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 6:10 “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” This verse is often misunderstood to mean that money itself is the root of all kinds of evil. In truth, it’s when money has our heart (the love of money) that it’s subject to the curse. The enemy knows the damage that a love of money can do in our lives, so he has assigned a very powerful spirit to money in order to draw our hearts away from God.

Last week we learned that when we don’t have a right, God-centered view of our money, our finances are controlled by a spirit called mammon. That spirit influences how we use money, causes us to pursue it for the wrong reasons, and ultimately prevents God’s blessings from

Fundamentally, the leaders and executives of The So-Called Church (TSCC) and it’s leaders are demonstrable, serial, severe liars, stealers, and cheaters. This pattern isn’t new: it’s a strong theme, maybe the central theme, tying contemporary leadership all the way back to Joseph Smith and 1830…191 years strong.

I’m certain each one of us could all easily and off the cuff cite a plethora of reasons and evidence readily proving the leaders and executives of TSCC are liars, thieves and cheaters, in every epoch and in every case -every leader. So so much empirical and anecdotal evidence comes to my mind. Gospel Topic Essays (GTEs) are one of the quickest and easiest and most apparent smoking guns which, in their own words, demonstrates to any non-indoctrinated reasonable person the narratives of TSCC and it’s leaders are fraudulent and intended to facilitate their con game/grift.

“Honest people love truth and justice. They are honest in their words and actions. They do not lie, steal, or cheat.”…

…”The 13th article of faith says, ‘We believe in being honest.’”…

…”God is honest and just in all things (see Alma 7:20). We too must be honest in all things to become like Him. The brother of Jared testified, “Yea, Lord, I know that thou … art a God of truth, and canst not lie” (Ether 3:12). In contrast, the devil is a liar. In fact, he is the father of lies (see 2 Nephi 9:9). “Those who choose to cheat and lie and deceive and misrepresent become his slaves” (Mark E. Petersen, in Conference Report, Oct. 1971, 65; or Ensign, Dec. 1971, 73)…

…To Lie is Dishonest

Lying is intentionally deceiving others. Bearing false witness is one form of lying. The Lord gave this commandment to the children of Israel: “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour” (Exodus 20:16). Jesus also taught this when He was on earth (see Matthew 19:18)…

…There are many other forms of lying. When we speak untruths, we are guilty of lying. We can also intentionally deceive others by a gesture or a look, by silence, or by telling only part of the truth. Whenever we lead people in any way to believe something that is not true, we are not being honest.

The Lord is not pleased with such dishonesty, and we will have to account for our lies. Satan would have us believe it is all right to lie. He says, “Yea, lie a little; … there is no harm in this” (2 Nephi 28:8). Satan encourages us to justify our lies to ourselves. Honest people will recognize Satan’s temptations and

I have noted in the past that if the church wants you to read something, they provide a link to it. If they don't want you to read it, they will provide a reference but no link. Actually, this practice isn't limited to the institutional church, FAIR does this as well, but I digress.

Anyhow, in the Book of Mormon and DNA Gospel Topics essay, the following claim is made:

>Joseph Smith appears to have been open to the idea of migrations other than those described in the Book of Mormon,8 and many Latter-day Saint leaders and scholars over the past century have found the Book of Mormon account to be fully consistent with the presence of other established populations.

So we click on footnote 8: >“Facts Are Stubborn Things,” Times and Seasons 3 (Sept. 15, 1842): 922. This article is unattributed but was published under Joseph Smith’s editorship. See also Hugh Nibley, Lehi in the Desert, The World of the Jaredites, There Were Jaredites (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1988): 250.

What they're trying to prove is that the Asian migrants who make up perhaps 99.999% of the DNA of native American populations are possible within the textual framework of the Book of Mormon and that somehow the DNA for the Nephites just hasn't been discovered yet. So I make the crazy assumption based on the claim in the text that Joseph was open to Asian migrations. Anyhow, we look up the Times and Seasons article and here's what we read (quoted in full so that we're not taking things out of context):

>“FACTS ARE STUBBORN THINGS.” >From the extract from “Stephens’ Incidents of Travel in Central America,” it will be seen that the proof of the Nephites and Lamanites dwelling on this continent, according to the account in the Book of Mormon, is developing itself in a more satisfactory way than the most sanguine believer in that revelation, could have anticipated. It certainly affords us a gratification that the world of mankind does not enjoy, to give publicity to such important developements of the remains and ruins of those mighty people.

>When we read in the Book of Mormon that Jared and his brother came on to this continent from the confusion and scattering at the Tower, and lived here more than a thousand years, and covered the whole continent from sea to sea, with towns and cities; and that Lehi went down by the Red Sea to the grea

It seems like in the past, there have been excommunications of members because they were spreading information which was later confirmed by the Church itself through the Gospel Topics essays. Can anyone think of specific examples of this? Thank you!

As you may know, an AskReddit is asking about cults and sure enough we are on there.

I am preaching to the choir, sure, but I just wanted to state that:

1. All of my worst experiences I've ever had in the church all had to do with specific individuals who were misinterpreting doctrine or mis-using it to their advantage, and NOT the doctrine at large, or the church at large. None of these negative interactions made me think I was in a cult.

2. No one in the church has ever coerced me to do anything ever. No one ever brainwashed me. I'm a skeptical person, I would know.

3. Of all of the kindest people I've ever met in my life, a good 80% of them are active believing members, including some of the most amazing people I have ever known.

4. I've had dramatic and in some cases miraculous spiritual experiences first hand...and most of those were either personal or with just a few people and not the result of cult-ish behavior.

5. I believe I am a considerably better person than I would be had it not been for the church, its teachings, its doctrines, and the council of its leaders.

6. I know some leaders have caused harm to some members, but I've never personally encountered such and I have no reason to believe that it was anything other than very rare. And the church has made real policy changes that I think were the right choices.

So yes, I know of people in the church who had fanatic family members, absurdly strict parents, and seen other less than Christlike behavior, but I have experienced much, much more of the opposite, and my heart goes out to those who've had those bad experiences. I'm sorry that happened. That is not the correct behavior of a disciple of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.

If the restoration is "ongoing," this necessarily means that it has not yet been "restored" to its former state. The church cannot simultaneously have the exact same ordinances as Abraham, the same church organization as Christ, or the same gospel that the ancients had, but also be slowly-but-surely transitioning toward a full restoration of those ordinances, organization, or gospel. Either the church today is already the same as ancient churches (as it claims to be) or it is still in the middle of an "ongoing restoration," but both can't be true. Either wives in ancient times covenanted to obey their husbands or they did not; either Christ's "church" had 15 apostles and two-hour church meetings or it did not; either children with LGBTQ parents were banned from baptism anciently or they were not.

Instead, if we claim that it's only the "procedures" and "methods" that are changing now (rather than "covenants" or gospel), then why is this "ongoing" restoration significant in the first place? Why brag about how amazing our "procedures" and "methods" will someday be? I can imagine missionaries telling potential converts about how the "correct procedures and methods" have been lost from the world, but not to worry!, because eventually they will be fully restored (someday). The idea that the "ongoing restoration"--the great work of revelation and the church today--is to slowly bring about the full restoration of "procedures" and "methods" is devoid of substance and significance.

So, if a truly significant restoration is still "ongoing," this means that Nelson is admitting the church right now is not the same as what was practiced by the ancients, contradicting a major justification for the church existing. If the "ongoing restoration" is the much more mundane restoration of "procedures" and "methods," then why all the fuss?

I know that the early Church (specifically Augustine) believed Matthew was written first and Mark and Luke used it as a source, but I can't find anything about the modern Church's take on the question. I'm specifically curious about the various Orthodox traditions beliefs, but would be happy to learn about the believe of any denomination. Thanks in advance!

Edit: If it exists, some kind of church statement would be interesting to read.

https://aaronsiri.substack.com/p/fda-asks-federal-judge-to-grant-it

It turns out there there is a "Gospel Topic" on the Church's website entitled "Gospel" (https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/gospel?lang=eng). It reads in part (emphasis mine):

"The gospel is our Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness... The first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. In its fulness, the gospel includes all the doctrines, principles, laws, ordinances, and covenants necessary for us to be exalted in the celestial kingdom."

It was also pointed out to me that the Church's Style Guide (https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/style-guide), says the following (emphasis mine):

"The term “Mormonism” is inaccurate and should not be used. When describing the combination of doctrine, culture and lifestyle unique to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the term “the restored gospel of Jesus Christ” is accurate and preferred."

A few thoughts:

(1) "plan of Happiness". This sounds pretty close to "good news".

(2) "doctrines, principles, laws, ordinances, and covenants". This sounds very legalistic. It sounds very distant from the "good news" of Jesus and His atonement and resurrection. I realize that in the Church's point of view, all of these things tie back to Jesus, but... really?

(3) "culture, and lifestyle"... Really? "unique to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"... Really?

Well, at least I have the definition I've been hunting for...

   It’s scary to think back to when I was a kid that I’d never be at this point, but here I am. I am struggling majorly with depression and anxiety, struggled with addiction to pornography for 12 years, and all of that had caused me to also gain a lot of weight. I have horrible self esteem and self confidence and in turn that makes it so hard to make it to church every Sunday. Sometimes I struggle to even shower or brush my teeth, so the thought of even getting myself to read or let alone enjoy reading the scriptures seems so hard.

    Let me point out that I have a wonderful family, raised in the church my whole life. We all went on missions, yet it’s so frustrating to see myself struggle so bad when I sure thought the I’ve been putting in effort to be righteous. I’m so frustrated with how much effort I’ve also put in to fight my addiction to pornography with 0 luck.

  I love the gospel and the doctrine, and I totally understand the importance of opposition in all things, especially since 2 Nephi 11 is one of my favorite chapters. But I also know the Gospel can bring joy and that is just absolutely not how I feel right now. In fact, I feel like I’m drowning in guilt and pressure for not going to church, and that just makes my other problems so much worse.

I just wish I saw some sort of bang for my buck. I feel like any effort I put in just makes things worse. Maybe I’m just being ignorant but all I know is I’m miserable and the guilt and pressure are eating me alive. And I don’t know what to do about it :(

Ngl, every time i see footage from those lit church sessions, i just wanna experience that. I grew up on a christian school, but that was the boring side of religion, if there wouldve been gospelmusic instead of boring choirs i wouldve actually enjoyed myself.

Idc what you think, gospel music is vibing

I had to hold my tongue, but I've been thinking about it for a while, and I have to write something about it now.

If you believe the Mormon "gospel", then you believe that the church leaders are inspired by God, and that when multiple church leaders say something, it is the word of God ("Law of Witnesses"). If all of the church leaders say it, that is literally revelation (Bednar's definition). Anything else is ignorant of really basic principles.

"Sure, lots of church leaders say terrible things, but if you ignore the church and look at the gospel behind it..." Bullshit. If the church leaders say it, it *is* the gospel, and if the church leaders are saying terrible things (and they are), then the gospel is terrible things. That kind of wishy-washy half apologetics and excuses is garbage.

The only area it could possibly make sense is if you're talking about church basketball or the jello salad that always shows up at ward events.

I went to the church website to re-read the gospel essays and noticed that some of them are missing.

They aren't entirely missing, if you look up the subject the page is still there, but it is missing the text. Why would they be missing? Did the church remove the more controversial ones on purpose?

Here are the links to see for yourself.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/translation-and-historicity-of-the-book-of-abraham?lang=eng

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/book-of-mormon-and-dna-studies?lang=eng

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/first-vision-accounts?lang=eng

I find this very strange. What are your thoughts?