Living Hope’s fourth video project is underway. As has always been the case with our video projects, we seem to go about them in rather unconventional ways. The Lord gives us a few kernels of ideas and direction, and he drops all sorts of information and interviews into our laps, and we scramble around trying to get it all on videotape. Which leaves us with many, many hours of material to sift through, as we prayerfully ask God for wisdom for how this information will coalesce into a cohesive video presentation.

The upshot of this new project is to clearly, credibly, and concisely answering the question: Is Mormonism Christian?

In August, Joel and Scott undertook a cross-country trek by car, from Vermont all the way back to Utah. The purpose of this trip was to gain insights into the complex and convoluted history of Joseph Smith and the development of the Mormon Church (in all its various derivations). What they gathered and learned on this trip will be a significant part of the upcoming project.

If you’ve been listening to the news at all lately, you no doubt are aware of the arrest of Warren Steed Jeffs, who is the leader and “prophet” of the Fundamentalist Latter-day Saint Church (or FLDS), which is the largest of many Mormon fundamentalist (polygamous) sects. Many of those sects, like the FLDS, are characterized by isolationism, authoritarian rule, and abuse, particularly against women and children.

While not all fundamentalist groups share the FLDS’ violent and oppressive characteristics, it is estimated that there are anywhere from 40,000 to 100,000 people in North America who adhere to the principles of Mormon fundamentalism. The thing that unites all of these various different forms of Mormon fundamentalism is an unwavering belief in the historical doctrines and teachings of Mormonism as delivered by Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Chief among these doctrines is the belief that the practice of polygamy, or “plural marriage,” is essential to exaltation to godhood. When you look at the doctrines and the writings of the early LDS leaders and prophets, there is no getting around that fact. According to Mormon doctrine, if you want to ascend to godhood, you need to practice plural marriage. Period.

Two Arrests in Utah

There have been two arrests made at a Mormon pageant in Clarkston, Utah in August. The first was Living Hope’s own Joel Kramer, who was arrested while he and Scott were videotaping the pageant from a public vantage point. Then a week later, during a Christian outreach at the same pageant (which consisted of nothing more than handing out gospel literature), Chip Thompson of Tri-Grace Ministries was also arrested, while on public property. In both cases, the law seems clearly on the side of Joel and Chip, in that they were doing nothing illegal or warranting arrest; in fact, in both cases this seems to represent a clear breakdown of the separation of church and state. Nevertheless, in a Mormon-dominated court system, will it be possible to get a fair hearing? To read the full story on our website click here.

Some new features on the Living Hope web page

Once again we’ve modified the Living Hope and Mormonchallenge webpages for increased interactivity and easier navigation. Please check it out at: www.lhvm.org! We invite your feedback.

We’ve also updated a popular feature of the web page, a collection of letters that we’ve received. Many of them are from appreciative partners, but probably more are challenging e-mails that are sent to us by Mormons who are upset by our materials, or, in some cases, are struggling with their own doubts and seeking help. We’ve added a lot of new material, so if you found the older e-mails interesting or helpful, check out the new ones as well. To access them, click here.

And as always, we encourage people who have not seen our videos to visit our streaming video page--and encourage others to visit at well. It's easy, and best of all, it's free!

Supporting Living Hope Ministries

Living Hope Ministries continually relies upon the faithful prayers and generosity of those who use our products. We are currently in the midst of the most expensive part of production, and are grateful to the Lord and to all of you who have assisted us, for the ability to move forward. If you haven’t already, we would ask you to prayerfully consider partnering with us in prayer and/or financial giving to further these ministry efforts! Financial contributions can be made with a credit card at this page.

Please pray for God’s wisdom as we proceed with this complex project that we are working on. We fully recognize that it will not be by our strength or might, but by God’s Spirit (Zech. 4:6).

Please pray for the plight of the people trapped in Mormon fundamentalism, and for the ministries that are gearing themselves to meet their needs. Please be praying that the Lord would raise up people and resources to reach out to these people. And if your own heart is stirred by this outreach, be praying about how you yourself might become involved! Please visit: www.shieldandrefuge.org for more information.

Please prayfor both Joel Kramer and Chip Thompson, as they face the legal challenges of defending their actions; and please understand that this is ultimately about securing the right to do Christian outreach at Mormon events in Utah. Pray that God would keep these avenues for outreach open!