Day 193 A Visit to a Christian Bookstore 10/07/06
Today Elder C drove to do service. We helped move boxes and unload clothes at a Good-Will type place. It was good, hard work.
A brief pause while I talk about the surroundings here in Dahlgren. This area is so different than my first area. It is cold, wet and rainy. If I were to paint a picture of it, all I would need is brown for dirt roads, dark green for the trees and grey for the color of the sky. It's not raining hard. Just a drizzle, but I've heard that the forecast for the week is more of the same.
After our service was completed, we headed home for lunch. On the way home, my companion pulled into a Christian bookstore called "Blessed 2 C U". There was a sign in the front window that said, "Come check out our new coffee bar and have a cup of coffee." (Oh, brother)
As we walked toward the store my companion said that he just needed to run in really quick to buy a scripture highlighter. He told me not to read the books because they sold a lot of anti-Mormon books. When I stepped inside, I had a weird feeling. There were crosses everywhere. There were all manner of sculptures of winged angels, and a ton of Christian books and videos. They had the "Left Behind" series for sale there, as well as "Left Behind for kids". Some interesting, interesting stuff.
I noticed a bookshelf of "How-to" books for Christians. Were these books on how to raise a more loving family? No. Were they books on how to create a Christ centered home? No. Were they books on how to develop and/or strengthen your faith in Jesus Christ? No. No, these were books on how to witness to Mormon missionaries. And it wasn't just our church. Boy, I'll tell ya...It's never a good day when a book that someone wrote about your church is shelved next to a book about Satanism.
They had books on how to talk to your Jewish friends, your Muslim friends, and your Atheist friends about Christ. Now that is all well and good, but then you have books next to them about Jehovah's Witnesses, Satanic cults and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The subtitle for "our" book said: "Mormons claim to be Christians but this book shows why they are not."
Pardon my language, but who do these Useful Idiots think they are trying to kid? To quote President Hugh B. Brown's eloquence in his wonderful talk, "The Profile of a Prophet", "I can not understand...why Christians who claim to believe in Jesus Christ would persecute and put to death a man who's sole purpose was to prove the truth of the things that they themselves were declaring, namely that Jesus was the Christ. I could understand them persecuting Joseph and the rest of us, if he had said, "I am Christ" or "There is no Christ" or "Someone else is Christ". Then, maybe, Christians would be justified in persecuting him or disputing with him at least. But he did not say that. Joseph declared, "I saw Him and talked with Him. He is the Son of God. Why persecute me for that?"
Something I saw at the book store that was selling were pictures of Jesus Christ as painted by L.D.S. artists. I saw this whole set of greeting cards with pictures of the Savior on them by artists like Del Parsons, Simon Dewey and Greg Olsen. I mentioned in my journal that Greg Olsen had come and spoken to us at the MTC. I laughed to myself thinking, how ironic. Somebody could come in here and buy a book on why Mormons are not Christians and a beautiful painting of Jesus Christ as painted by the lds artist, Greg Olsen. Too funny!
I stopped laughing when I really looked at the box of greeting cards, trying to find the signature of Greg Olsen, Simon Dewey or any of the other artists featured. The cards were not signed. There was no mention anywhere on the cards or on the box of who painted these paintings. But I knew. I also knew that this was done without permission. Upon closer examination, I saw that who ever had produced these greeting cards had scanned the pictures, but cropped out the artist's name. Matthew 21:13 "My house is a house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves."
(Sigh) So that whole experience was a little discouraging. I guess to some Christian bookstores, it does not matter. Anything to make a profit. "Woe unto you, ...hypocrites." Luke 11:44
A brief pause while I talk about the surroundings here in Dahlgren. This area is so different than my first area. It is cold, wet and rainy. If I were to paint a picture of it, all I would need is brown for dirt roads, dark green for the trees and grey for the color of the sky. It's not raining hard. Just a drizzle, but I've heard that the forecast for the week is more of the same.
After our service was completed, we headed home for lunch. On the way home, my companion pulled into a Christian bookstore called "Blessed 2 C U". There was a sign in the front window that said, "Come check out our new coffee bar and have a cup of coffee." (Oh, brother)
As we walked toward the store my companion said that he just needed to run in really quick to buy a scripture highlighter. He told me not to read the books because they sold a lot of anti-Mormon books. When I stepped inside, I had a weird feeling. There were crosses everywhere. There were all manner of sculptures of winged angels, and a ton of Christian books and videos. They had the "Left Behind" series for sale there, as well as "Left Behind for kids". Some interesting, interesting stuff.
I noticed a bookshelf of "How-to" books for Christians. Were these books on how to raise a more loving family? No. Were they books on how to create a Christ centered home? No. Were they books on how to develop and/or strengthen your faith in Jesus Christ? No. No, these were books on how to witness to Mormon missionaries. And it wasn't just our church. Boy, I'll tell ya...It's never a good day when a book that someone wrote about your church is shelved next to a book about Satanism.
They had books on how to talk to your Jewish friends, your Muslim friends, and your Atheist friends about Christ. Now that is all well and good, but then you have books next to them about Jehovah's Witnesses, Satanic cults and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The subtitle for "our" book said: "Mormons claim to be Christians but this book shows why they are not."
Pardon my language, but who do these Useful Idiots think they are trying to kid? To quote President Hugh B. Brown's eloquence in his wonderful talk, "The Profile of a Prophet", "I can not understand...why Christians who claim to believe in Jesus Christ would persecute and put to death a man who's sole purpose was to prove the truth of the things that they themselves were declaring, namely that Jesus was the Christ. I could understand them persecuting Joseph and the rest of us, if he had said, "I am Christ" or "There is no Christ" or "Someone else is Christ". Then, maybe, Christians would be justified in persecuting him or disputing with him at least. But he did not say that. Joseph declared, "I saw Him and talked with Him. He is the Son of God. Why persecute me for that?"
Something I saw at the book store that was selling were pictures of Jesus Christ as painted by L.D.S. artists. I saw this whole set of greeting cards with pictures of the Savior on them by artists like Del Parsons, Simon Dewey and Greg Olsen. I mentioned in my journal that Greg Olsen had come and spoken to us at the MTC. I laughed to myself thinking, how ironic. Somebody could come in here and buy a book on why Mormons are not Christians and a beautiful painting of Jesus Christ as painted by the lds artist, Greg Olsen. Too funny!
I stopped laughing when I really looked at the box of greeting cards, trying to find the signature of Greg Olsen, Simon Dewey or any of the other artists featured. The cards were not signed. There was no mention anywhere on the cards or on the box of who painted these paintings. But I knew. I also knew that this was done without permission. Upon closer examination, I saw that who ever had produced these greeting cards had scanned the pictures, but cropped out the artist's name. Matthew 21:13 "My house is a house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves."
(Sigh) So that whole experience was a little discouraging. I guess to some Christian bookstores, it does not matter. Anything to make a profit. "Woe unto you, ...hypocrites." Luke 11:44
posted by Garden Anywhere Box | 5:13 AM
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