I never said not to pray at all. We are not to pray if something is true or not. Prayer is a conversation not a measurement of truth. I don’t need to pray to know the BoM is false. That can be discovered intellectually.
So... you'll decide when you need God. OK, you have your agency, God is not to busy for me to ask him "stuff" all the time.
And don’t give me that, you know as well as I do that the ‘burning the the bosom’ or feelings is how the LDS gain their testimony.
It is one way to receive a testimony. the burning in the bosom is not the only way to gain a testimony. I did not gain my testimony that way. Either call me a liar and get it over with or stop denying my testimony.
Let me make it really clear to you, God
Told me that the Book of Mormon was true, and that the Bible was true and that Jesus Christ was my Lord and savior, who came to earth and died for me and broke the bonds of death for me. There is no room for error, God's message to me was very clear. I am not talking about a feeling. I am not talking about a burning in the bosom, God told me period, end of story.
I know Greek, Hebrew, Latin, and some Aramaic and have done work on the DSS. I know Jesus lived and died for me because I have studied the Bible, the MSS, and the external sources and have weighed the evidence of the Historical Jesus and the reliability of the Bible. Therefore, if the Bible is reliable and it tells me that Jesus lived and died on the cross for my sins then I believe it. Objective truth.
Don't take this the wrong way, but IMHO, you don't know. You have an intellectual testimony that could be impeached by a sufficiently well armed purveyor of lies. I will pray that you come to an unimpeachable knowledge of Jesus' life, death and resurrection for you. I testify that you can receive a testimony from God of the Bible which will be delicious to your soul and become one of your treasured possessions. Bag the Book of Mormon for a moment, get a testimony of the Bible first!
Your radio analogy makes no sense. Moroni’s promise is designed to elicit a certain response and if you don’t get that response it implies it is YOUR fault.
So, if the radio isn't broken, and the batteries have a charge, and God is broadcasting on the specified frequency, isn't a lack of hearing his voice your fault? You are looking at it as if God's not there, the radio doesn't work, or the batteries are dead and there can be no answer. Prayer Works! God will testify to the truth of all his words. The bible contains the same formula the Book of Mormon does. Have a problem with the Book of Mormon? No problem, Go get an answer about the Bible, then once you understand how the answer works, test the Book of Mormon. If it fails Great! When it passes, WOW!
No a charlatan will convince people to pray about something that doesn’t need to be prayed about and tell them that if they don’t get a certain response then they aren’t doing it right.
God tells people to pray, I submit to you that Satan will not teach people to pray to God in faith about anything because when God answers people will have more faith in God. There are only a few things you can count on Satan not to do: He'll tell you a 1000 truths to slip in a lie but
he will never testify that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, was crucified and he will never teach men to ask God in faith!
Again, NOWHERE in the Bible are we told to pray about doctrine or if something is true or not. NOWHERE EVER. That is your first mistake. I prayed to know the truth no matter what it cost me and it cost me my Mormonism.
I prayed to know the truth and was told the truth by God. No, I was not on medication, no I am not lying. I have, to my knowledge, never told anyone on FR that my answer was verbal before. I tell people the radio analogy because for me, the radio always works when ever I put the batteries in and tune it to God's channel. I do not pretend to understand your situation, I do not know what you did, or did not do and I am not calling you a liar, insincere, or a faker, I just don't know. I do know that God answers prayers, and I know he answered mine in a clear, concise, and simple, undeniable way. As for the Bible and prayer:
there is
James 1:5-6 5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Prayer for knowledge, in the Bible, I don't care how many languages you speak, this is pretty clear.
Now once you get an answer, how do you know it was from God... The Bible comes to the rescue again:
First John 4:1-3 1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
It's in there, we are commanded to pray, we are taught how to know the difference between God's answers and Satan's answers, why teach this if God is not going to answer?
The Bible tells you to pray for knowledge, the Bible says to pray in faith, The Bible says that if you don't pray in faith you will not receive an answer.
What is different than
Moroni 10:4-8?
Moroni 10:4-8 goes one step further, it says " by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." Wow, what an opportunity! We can pray about anything we lack knowledge of and God will answer! (In my experience, sometimes his answer is "you don't need to know that" and sometimes he laughs and says "you're not ready for that answer first, go work on this...", but he answers!
So, yes I would tell people investigating the LDS NOT to pray, because it is a way that SATAN deceives them and it is not biblical at all.
I have just quoted to you from the Bible. Prayer for knowledge is Biblical. The Bible teaches men to pray and to pray for knowledge. Your example here of your secular belief in the Bible, while it shows tenaciousness, is not spiritual. IMHO, you know
of Jesus, but you don't
know Jesus. My soul weeps for you. The poverty of spirit is unbearable to contemplate. please tell me if there is anything I can do to help you to obtain a spiritual awakening that you too may receive answers to your prayers.
Delph
5 If any of you lack wisdom,. .
Prayer for knowledge, in the Bible Certainly you can tell the difference between WISDOM and KNOWLEDGE Du, after all you read all those fancy bible translations.
First John 4:1-3
Says absolutely nothing about praying about the bom. Within the historical context it was used to identify gnostics. Modern application based upon the greek for "try" has nothing to do with praying about the bom or anyother scripture, but to test and verify (like testing a metal) - not feelings (nothing more than feelings. . . .)
I have just quoted to you from the Bible. Prayer for knowledge is Biblical.
Well Du, as you proven to all - your bible comprehension skills are lacking as you continue to tell us something that the passage you cite doesn't state. Tsk, tsk, tsk Du, stop digging yourself in deeper.