By Craig Ray
We talk about deceptive practices among anti-Mormons quite often, but rarely do we see such a blatant and glaring example of outright deception and factual misrepresentations as we see in the statements of Jim Robertson of “Concerned Christians, Inc.,” an anti-Mormon organization in Arizona, to his congregation in just one address, given on January 24, 1994. Mr. Robertson’s comments are on the left, and the verifiable facts of the matter are on the right. Judge for yourself.
| Claims and Statements of Jim Robertson |
The Verifiable Truth | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joseph Smith joined the Methodist Church. It’s in the Pearl of Great Price. | Joseph Smith was partial to the Methodists, but never joined. (JSH 1:8) | |
| 2 | Joseph [Smith] and Hyrum [Smith] went over at night and burned the Nauvoo Expositor. | Joseph Smith convened the Nauvoo City Council, the council ordered the destruction of the Expositor press after deliberating their decision for 14 hours, then Joseph (as mayor) ordered the Marshall of the City of Nauvoo to destroy the press. Joseph and Hyrum were not there. (HC 6:432) | |
| 3 | A question from the audience was asked, “How can a Mormon accept these teachings?” Jim Robertson replied, “I was a bishop, and I accepted them.” | Jim Robertson was never a Bishop in the LDS Church. The closest he got was serving as a counselor in a Branch Presidency. That is not the same as being a bishop. | |
| 4 | The Mormon Church says that you are not officially married if you are not married in the temple. | The State of Arizona regulates who can and cannot be married, and anyone with a license can get married. The LDS Church always has recognized non-temple marriages as legally binding if entered into in conformance with law. | |
| 5 | If the Jews are not Mormons, they are considered ‘Gentiles.’ | The LDS Church does not consider Jews who are not members to be ‘Gentiles.’ | |
| 6 | The Mormon Church was to try and prove one lie in the film The Godmakers and to sue us and to make us stop showing the film. They have not found one. | The film The Godmakers contains a mountain of lies, but the LDS Church was never challenged to find one. Nevertheless, entire books have been written to expose the lies in that film. See They Lie In Wait To Deceive, Vol. 4, or The Truth About The Godmakers, by Gilbert Scharffs. | |
| 7 | There are only 2 paid actors in the movie [The Godmakers]. All the rest are not paid. | If there were only 2 actors in the movie, why did Jim Robertson and Dick Baer get paid? (The 2 lawyers were professional actors.) |
