23 june 2012

my original e-mail to them:

I've been reading some of your articles about Mormonism, and I've found what appears to be a critical oversight on your part.

You see, Kolob is *not* a planet; it's a star.

www.lds.org/scriptures/gs/kolob.t1?lang=...

In the past decade or so I've been reading counter-cult materials, the vast majority of authors who reference Kolob seem to be confused about this matter.

Given just how clearly it's stated, I wonder how it is that so many authors make this mistake. It's almost as if the authors are relying on second-hand sources rather than actually reading anything Mormon.

**

Their initial response, 23 june 2012

Hello Dennis (not my name; he got it wrong even though I had to type it in the "name" field and my real name is in my e-mail address),

Thank you for contacting Apprising Ministries. Below you said:

"I've been reading some of your articles about Mormonism, and I've found what appears to be a critical oversight on your part. You see, Kolob is *not* a planet; it's a star."

Noted. But unfortunately, this only makes Elohim aka Heavenly Father allegedly once living there as a man all the more ridiculous given the nature of stars/

Dennis, in any event, please understand that whether star, planet, it really makes no difference as to Mormonism's false view of God and His Gospel.

Finally you speculate re. counter-cult researchers: "It's almost as if the authors are relying on second-hand sources rather than actually reading anything Mormon."

Well, I can't speak for all; but that wouldn't be me. I lived in heavily Mormon southwest Wyoming for over 10 years and studied Mormonism with Mormons themselves.

I pray this helps alleviate your concerns about me personally and my knowledge of the non-Christian cult of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons).

Sincerely,

Ken Silva, pastor-teacher

President

Apprising Ministries

Ezekiel 3:7-14

Gen. Ed.

Christian Research Network

2 Corinthians 11:12-15 

**

Me, 23 June 2012:

Not really.

To begin with, my name is "******"; it's even in the e-mail address you're contacting me through.

That being said -

Imagine, if you will, someone who is Mormon finding such an error on your site. How likely would it be for them to say "If he cannot even get this right, why should I trust anything else written here?"

I'm presently attending graduate school, and as you can imagine some of my professors would have had no mercy for such a mistake in any of my papers. In fact, I once had a professor tell me about a situation in which a corporate CEO walked out of a presentation because of a typo on a slide; the CEO didn't consider it worth his time to sit in front of a presentation that wasn't perfect the first time around.

Furthermore, can I see what references you have that specifically say God lives (or, at least, lived) on Kolob? I've not seen any of such references.

I thank you for your time and consideration.

Jun 23, 2012 -- 6:35PM, moksha8088 wrote:

Iron, are you sure there isn't a planet named Kolob circling around a star with the same name?  This seems a reasonable astronomical assumption and physiological necessity if God is of flesh and bone. 

Thing is, that's "arguing from silence", which is generally a no-no in the world of academia. 

Main thing, Mok, is that I'm tired of critics of the church presenting themselves as "academics" and "experts" when they behave in such a fashion that true academia would kick them to the curb.