Utah Missions re: Trinity

Okay, so it's been four days since my return from the week long missions trip to Utah (a.k.a. Reformed Egypt for those of you who know the inside joke) and I find it wasn't nearly long enough to make real connections with the missionary sisters that I met. 

I don't know what it is... but spending time learning about other religions/beliefs really help me stay rooted in what I know is God's full Truth!  I can't believe how many contradictions there are within the LDS faith, especially the ones that contradict the Bible (of which they believe also to be God's Word, partly). The Bible states that the Trinity: God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit are One (not Three who are One in purpose -- an LDS belief).  Today I want to talk about the Trinity.  

You can find this info, where the Father is called God in Jn. 6:27 and Phil. 2:11; where Jesus is called God in Jn 1:1 and 14, Titus 2:13, Heb 1:8, and 1 Jn 5:20; the Holy Spirit is called God in Acts 5:3-4.  In Matthew 28:19, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,"  I underlined the word "name", notice it doesn't read "names" plural, but singular!  In Jn 10:30, Jesus says, "I and the Father are one."  Do you really believe the Jews attempted to stone Jesus when He made that statement because He was "a god" and not "their God"?  The Jews knew what Jesus was saying... He was saying that He was their One and only God, not a god in "one purpose"!

In the Book of Mormon you find in the introduction within The Testimony of Three Witness the last full sentence, "And the honor be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, which is one God. Amen."  In 2 Nephi 31:21, "...And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end, Amen."  In 3 Nephi 11:36 Jesus states, "And this will the Father bear record of me, and the Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost are one."  I'm not sure how this doctrine gets perverted into something else entirely... oh wait I do, Satan! His hands are all over this belief system.

When talking about the Trinity (and much more) with the missionary sisters at Temple Square, they fell back on their "feelings", never really searching for Truth outside of the Book of Mormon.  I shared how our feelings are deceptive, see Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?" (I wish I could have remembered this passage reference at the time).  Mormonism is a feeling "religion", they know it's from God if they get a feeling (usually a warmness in their bosom).  We read in the Bible that we can't trust our feelings and as a matter of fact often times we are supposed to act opposite our feelings, since feelings can lead us astray.

My learning and sharing isn't over just because I'm back in San Diego!  I look forward to additional opportunities while here in my own back yard!

The Beautiful Baobab Tree

Baobab Tree at Sunset (Senegal 2010)

I don't know why but the beautiful Baobab tree has left an impression on me.  I can't say too many trees or plants (or flowers for that matter) have ever left me wanting more.  This African tree is steeped with rich tradition  by many native people (unfortunately not much in the way of honoring God because many natives pray and even make offerings to it).  Some Senegalese believe they are making offerings to their ancestors' spirits by leaving dishes of food.  They break the dishes so the food runs to the ground to be eaten by the spirits.  They have even been used as burial sites once the trunks are hollowed out.

Fun fact: the Baobab tree has gone Disney!  In Disney's Lion King it is know as the "Tree of Life".  I can see how the nickname came into being... this ginormous tree has many attributes (yes, I just used a word that probably doesn't exist)... besides storing water in it's enormously wide trunk (up to 60 feet in girth), it's so big that it has been known to house animals as well as people for shelter.  These trees have been  measured up to 75 feet tall.  It's bark has cork-like characteristics making it fire-resistant.  The cork is used for cloth and rope and unlike most trees they don't produce internal rings (for dating), they need to be radio-carbon tested to determine its age, which can be up to 2000 years!

It even produces fruit, of which I had the likes of trying.  The fruit is gourd-like, filled with dark brown seeds (the size of gumballs) covered by a white, milky-looking, dry pulp.  The edible portion of this fruit is this white "stuff".  A common name for this fruit is "monkey bread".  Just pop a seed in your mouth and let the pulp dissolve. Then spit out the seed!  Easy enough!  This fruit is high in vitamin C and aids in stopping diarrhea.  Add water to the pulp and voilà a drink very similar to lemonade.

Monkey Bread fruit hangs from trees 

Inside the gourd shaped fruit

By grinding down the leaves into a powder, it gets added to many dishes making it a spice as well.  What more could you want from a tree?  I'm just going to have to say it... it's my favorite tree!

And thanks to Charlize Theron and her Africa Outreach Project, if you buy these Tom's shoes you are helping improve the health, education, and social development of high schoolers in South Africa.