HANK HANEGRAAF:
So they have four revelations, we have one revelation. Our revelation we say you can demonstrate to be divine rather than human in origins through manuscript evidence, archaeological evidence, predicted prophecy etc. Mormons however aren’t appealing to that. Tara made a really important point I thought in the ending of yesterday’s show when she said ‘I believe what I believe because of a feeling’.
RICHARD ABANES:
Right, this is a very, very difficult thing to overcome, a hurdle that’s very difficult when you’re talking to Mormons. They do believe what they believe by feeling and it’s been that way ever since the early 1800s. Mormons of that time and of today often would say and now say that they don’t believe Mormonism is true, they know Mormonism is true. That’s based on this feeling a sort of revelation type thing. But one thing I always try to bring up is the fact that Joseph Smith said something very interesting he said ‘Some revelations are of God, some revelations are of man and some revelations are of the devil’. And so what I always ask Mormons are ‘Is how do you know the feeling you have or the revelation you have is of God rather than of yourself or of the Devil’. That way you can start getting into now let’s test things, let’s test your revelation, let’s test these beliefs and these scriptures that you believe in.