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My first emotional reaction to your post is, of course, to curse you as an ignorant fool. However, upon immediate reflection, that would not be the right thing to do.

My son is on his mission right now, in Calgary Canada. He's a white guy. Zowie, many of us are. Many of us are African, many of us are from South and Central America. Many of us are from the Pacific islands.

We read the Bible. We also have an additional witness called the Book of Mormon. We also have a collection of direct revelations to modern prophets that we call the Doctrine & Covenants. There is another shorter collection of ancient and modern texts known as the Pearl of Great Price. In all of these texts you will find that the message is the same: Salvation is attained through the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ and obedience to the Lord's Commandments.

I believe you would be incorrect in attacking our missionaries on the basis of our doctrine. They are out doing the Lord's work without passing the plate for a salary, and it costs YOU nothing for their work.

Stating so-called facts without even reading your own scriptures shows bad form. However, I forgive you and will add you to our prayers that the Lord will soften your heart to His gospel.

Hey thanks for the prayer.

However, in the Book of Revelation, John said that "anyone adds to the words in this book -- let him be accursed"

Paul says in Galatians:
If I, or if an angel from Heaven, preach to you another gospel, let him be accursed. -- because Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light.

Even Moses in the Song of Moses from Deuteronomy warns direly that anyone who adds to the Word of God is in huge trouble.

Why would this matter to a Mormon?

Because J. Smith and company complained that the 19th Century church and the word of God in the Bible were inadequate. And that God needed another revelation. Smith said that God needed an addition to His Word.

That makes no sense if you read the Bible. It contradicts the entire purpose of the Bible. NO WHERE does Jesus say, hey, and did you know that I'm heading over to South America. And NO WHERE did the Old Testament Prophets say ANYTHING about American Indians being the real Jews, or baptizing in proxy for the dead, or bigamy, or that men would inherit their own planet with tons of wives at their disposal in the afterlife.

But Satan, as proved when he tested Jesus in the wilderness, ALSO knows the Bible. Pretty well. But because he is damned, he can't really understand it. That's why he twisted the word when he told Jesus to thrown himself down from the parapet and kill himself.

What I would like to know is what biblical test does Joseph Smith pass -- from what I recall of the book of Mormon, it states that Jesus DID NOT come back in the flesh, only the Spirit, in some strange retelling of Jesus's showing of his hands to his disciples.

This, of course, means that Mormonism fails John's biggest test when we are called to "test the spirit" to see if it is from God or not. The spirit that denies that Jesus has come in the flesh is the NOT of God. I believe this is John 1.

And my emotional reaction to you, sir, is one of dire conviction. If you are willing to stand before a holy and righteous God and tell Him that you eschewed His word for the sake of a former Mason with magic eyeglasses and a penchant for lots of wives, funny underwear, secret rites, misogynistic attitudes toward women -- and led your family to do the same -- well, I know God's mercies are as high as the heavens.

For me, the only one I will be able to stand behind on that great day is Jesus, who is the Living Word made Flesh, and His finished work on the cross.