Our objective in these updates is to keep you informed about what is happening with Living Hope Ministries...the status of new projects, new developments, activities, tools and resources, things like that.  For quite some time we've recognized the need for more regular and faithful communication with our friends and partners in ministry.  We will strive to put out a more informal update like this approximately once a month, and in most cases, no more than once a month (unless things are really hopping and there is big news to share!)  We certainly don't want to abuse your inbox!

Most of you know that we released our third video, The Bible vs. The Book of Mormon about two months ago.  The response has been very positive.  The first 10,000 copies barely got stacked up in inventory before being unstacked and sent out the front door!  And we have made a pretty significant dent in our next order of 10,000.  Here are a few excerpts from what people have written us about the video:

"I just watched your new movie online and it was so good, very well done....  I was born and raised a Mormon in Utah and for 30 years I believed it to be true until God knew my heart and love for truth...His Spirit guided me to several websites including the Tanner's utah lighthouse ministries and yours.   Thank you!   I will order several copies of this and pass them to my 'still-blind' family members."   --T.

"Thank you for your videos. They have been EXTREMELY helpful and strengthing. They have influenced me and encouraged me to step out on my faith and witness to the Mormons around me."  --T.

"...The message is what's so great, the truth presented is clear and understandable, and the visual content is very enjoyable. I plan to get extra copies to give out as a "loaner", as I have already given a couple out to ex-mormon and christian friends.... [The Bible vs. The Book of Mormon] is great for Christians as well as we wrestle with the historical reliability and trustworthiness of the Bible. God has given my opportunities as of late to share the truth of the Gospel to LDS missionaries. I love to see God working...and he is working through your media productions."  --B.

"I want you to know how much I have enjoyed your videos. We have watched Called to be Free, DNA vs. Book of Mormon and The Bible vs. The Book of Mormon. All are very good. My personal  favorite is  Bible vs. BofM.  My parents joined the Mormon church when I was 3 years old. It's all I have ever known....Your videos helped immensely in our journey out of mormonism. I was "saved" after watching the DNA video for the 1st time..."  --E.

We are blessed to be able to help both seeking Mormons and others in their outreach to Mormons with these video tools.  And we are grateful to know that they are being used in many different ways.  To be sure, we've gotten our fair share of challenges from Mormons who believe that the video is an "attack" on their religion.  While we understand this reaction, we want to communicate the reason why we are doing this--out of our love and gratitude to the Lord for saving us, and our desire that Mormons, too, experience this marvelous gift of God's grace!  An important component in sharing the truth about Jesus--who He is and what He came to do--is to contend with the false teachings about Him.  (Check out our "open letter to mormons" at www.lhvm.org/opletter.htm!)

A number of other churches across the country have taken advantage of our "consignment" offer--we encourage churches to show the video to their congregations, and provide them at cost ($4 each) to those in attendance.  We ship the quantity of videos that they request prior to the showing, and then when the event is over, they reimburse us only for what they sold (or want to keep), and return any unsold videos back to us.  It's an arrangement that's working out very well.  (If you are interested in doing something similar, please contact us!)

So what will the next project be?  We are still in the early development stage so far, but a general picture is starting to take shape, and no doubt will go through a few permutations before it's packaged and delivered.  As we see it now, the next video will deal more with the textual reliability of the Bible, a subject we touched upon briefly in "Bible vs." but which deserves a bit more attention in light of the LDS teachings about the Bible's unreliability.  Together with that, we will need to address how the Mormon teachings have twisted biblical doctrine and added their own, and also take a look back at the source--Joseph Smith himself.  Does that seem like a lot to cover?  Clearly it is.  We're not quite sure which "angle" will become predominant, but this is the general picture that's forming...and we humbly ask for your prayers for wisdom and guidance as we move forward.  As this project develops, we will keep you informed!

Now with the major thrust of the production of "Bible vs." behind us, we are turning our attention to doing some tuning and updating of the web pages.  As you may know, we have two primary websites, www.lhvm.org, and www.mormonchallenge.com.  They are quite well interconnected, so it's more like entering the same building through one of two doors.  We've been putting in new information, tools, articles, links, etc., and will continue to do so as time and inspiration allow!  So if it's been a while since you last paid us a visit online, we encourage you to do so!  

If you are interested in recent or past issues of The Fieldworker you can also pay a visit to www.thefieldworker.com.  It's a bit more lonely than the other websites, and might appreciate the company!  In any event, we welcome your feedback, comments, and suggestions about our web sites.

As we enter this Christmas season, and celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray that the miracle of Emmanuel, God with us, would be a reality in your life and ministry!

Wishing you abundant blessings,

--The Staff at Living Hope Ministries