Ken Blue Ministries

Be sure and listen to the great songs to lift your spirit

Compiled By Ken Blue

• Wives Cannot Go The Celestial Heaven Without Their Husband’s Approval
“Mormonism teaches of the importance for couples to be married and sealed in the Mormon temple. This doctrine is especially important for the women, considering they must have a male priesthood holder to accompany them into the highest level of the Celestial Kingdom. Mormon Apostle Erastus Snow preached Mormon women must keep themselves “worthy” to have a husband, if not they may be received as a servant by someone else.
“Do the women, when they pray, remember their husbands? Do you uphold your husband before God as your lord? What!-my husband to be my lord? I ask, Can you get into the celestial kingdom without him? Have any of you been there? You will remember that you never go into the celestial kingdom (during the temple ceremony) without the aid of your husband. If you did, it was because your husband was away, and some one had to act proxy for him. No woman will get into the celestial kingdom, except her husband receives her, if she is worthy to have a husband; and if not, somebody will receive her as a servant” (Journal of Discourses, vol. 5, p 291)”

• Jesus And The Devil Are Brothers
“In the Discourses of Brigham Young, on Pg.53-54 he lets it be known that Lucifer is the second son, the one known as “Son of the Morning.” “Who will redeem the earth, who will go forth and make the sacrifice for the earth and all things it contains?” The Eldest Son said: “Here am I”; and then he added, “Send me.” But the second one, which was “Lucifer, Son of the Morning,” said, “Lord, here am I, send me, I will redeem every son and daughter of Adam and Eve that lives on the earth, or that ever goes on the earth.” Note: Brigham Young is simply making this story up as he goes along. He had no knowledge that this conversation ever took place. In fact, it did not! Jesus Christ is not the brother of Lucifer in any manner. Why? Because Jesus Christ is God and the creator of all things. That includes Lucifer. “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:” Colossians 1:16.

• Tithing Required To Enter And Dwell In Zion
While tithes are not uncommon among religion, rarely are they mandatory. LDS theology states that in order to make it to the highest kingdom of heaven, you must pay a full and honest tithe.
D&C 119: 3-6. 3 And this shall be the beginning of the tithing of my people.4 And after that, those who have thus been tithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing law unto them forever, for my holy priesthood, saith the Lord.5 Verily I say unto you, it shall come to pass that all those who gather unto the land of Zion shall be tithed of their surplus properties, and shall observe this law, or they shall not be found worthy to abide among you.6 And I say unto you, if my people observe not this law, to keep it holy, and by this law sanctify the land of Zion unto me, that my statutes and my judgments may be kept thereon, that it may be most holy, behold, verily I say unto you, it shall not be a land of Zion unto you.”

• Blacks And The Priesthood
Black-skinned people are of inferior origin – Mormonism teaches that the spirit beings that did not fight valiantly for God come to earth as blacks, while those who fought valiantly come to earth as whites. Until very recently blacks could not become priests in the mormon system of worship for reasons related to this and other demeaning doctrines.
President Brigham Young, for example, in the March 1863 Journal of Discourses 10:110, said: “Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so.” Note: It was not God who opened their eyes and changed their stand. It was the Civil Rights movement and the fear of lawsuits.

• There Is No Salvation In Any Other Church
“Orson Pratt (Mormon Apostle)–”..all other churches are entirely destitute of all authority from God; and any person who receives baptism of the Lord’s supper from their hands highly offend God, for he looks upon them as the most corrupt of all people” (The Seer, pg 255)”

• Secret Underwear

A Temple garment (also referred to as garments, or Mormon underwear) is a type of underwear worn by members of some denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement, after they have taken part in the Endowment ceremony. Garments are worn both day and night and are required for any previously endowed adult to enter a church temple. The undergarments are viewed as a symbolic reminder of the covenants made in temple ceremonies, and are viewed as either a symbolic or literal source of protection from the evils of the world.
The garment is given as part of the washing and anointing portion of the endowment. Today, the temple garment is worn primarily by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and by members of some Mormon fundamentalist churches. Adherents consider them to be sacred and not suitable for public display. Anti-Mormon activists have occasionally publicly displayed or defaced temple garments to show their opposition to the LDS Church.
To members of the LDS Church, the temple garment represents the sacred and personal aspects of their relationship with God. Church President Joseph F. Smith taught that the garment was to be held as “the most sacred of all things in the world, next to their own virtue, next to their own purity of life.”
(Note: The Mormon Church is the master of deceit. The web is much larger than you might imagine.)

Be sure and listen to the great songs to lift your spirit

In previous articles I have written about some little things that visitors will not overlook, and pastors do so to their own peril. In this blog we will deal with four very important things that one cannot afford to overlook.

The first of these is the sound system. I have been in the ministry long enough to know, that if anything drives a pastor to the edge of insanity, it is the church sound system. The pastor is responsible to inform those in charge where the volume is to be set. This decision cannot be left to anyone else.

I visited a large church recently, and after the service, I received a copy of the service on DVD. That morning, a trio was singing. They were accompanied by a guitarist, who did a superb job. However, when I got home and played the DVD, the mikes for the trio were not on. All I heard was a guitar solo. These kinds of mistakes should not happen. This was human error, and visitors have a different view of it than old church members.

Train workers how to operate the equipment. Once the sound and dials are set, they should keep their hands off them. It would be wonderful if you could convince visitors to lay the blame at the feet of the sound operators, however, they will not. It will be laid on the pastor.

A second area of embarrassment is in the matter of song books. I know of nothing worse than asking people to turn to a page in the hymnal, and then discovering there aren’t enough available. This may seem like a small matter, but believe me it is not. That is just another reason the songs should be projected by Power Point, if possible. The pastor must walk around and see that each area has an adequate number of books, and they should be in good condition.

The same thing said about song books, could be said of Bibles. If you have unsaved guest coming to your church, the odds are, they do not have a Bible. Make sure Bibles are also in the pews. Inspect them to see that they are in good condition.

If a church is serious about reaching the lost, they must insure that Response Cards are provided. These cards should be designed to, not only communicate with visitors, but they should provide for members as well. I suggest that the cards be filled out by members and visitors. Visitors should not be pointed out, or ask to introduce themselves.

The card should be filled out just before the sermon, and completed at the end of the sermon. People will indicate their response to the sermon on the card. After the cards are filled out, the offering should be taken and the cards placed in the offering plate. These cards should cover every need your people might have. Contact Pastor Jason Murphy for card temples ,and how to make them work in your church. (http://www.opendoorbaptist.com/index.aspx.)

Be sure and listen to the great songs to lift your spirit
By Ken Blue
The American Heritage Dictionary defined neglect as, “1. To pay little or no attention to; 2. To fail to care for or attend to properly. 3. To fail to do or carry out, as through carelessness or oversight: Habitual lack of care.”

There are many ways to kill a flower. You may pull it up by the roots and stomp on it. Another, less strenuous way is simply to ignore it. Only eternity will reveal how many churches and ministries have died as a result of neglect. Neglect may be one of the greatest sins in the church. The book of Hebrews warns of its consequences.

One area that is most often neglected is the buildings and grounds. The pastor should either drive or walk around the grounds every week to inspect the lawns, shrubs, parking lot, lights, and building. It need not be said again that, it is not what you expect that gets done, it’s what you inspect. So, don’t neglect these.

A second area that the pastor must not ignore is that of finances. You must know what the fixed expenses are. You must also know how much cash the church has available, and what the projected weekly income will be. Also, the pastor must be in control of the finances. He need not handle any money, or sign any checks. But he must oversee all expenditure. The best way to do this is to start with the budget. Also, use purchase orders that the pastor must approve. Just remember, if the church gets in financial trouble, the only person who will be held accountable will be the pastor. Don’t neglect this important area.

This next area of neglect should be considered the greatest crime. It is the neglect of new members. Churches compass land and sea, and spend thousands of dollars and man hours to reach one family. They court them in every conceivable manner. Then, once they have joined the church, they are forgotten and ignored. This is the horrible crime.

The problem is the mindset of the pastor. He sees getting members as the end objective. However, this is just plain dumb. Membership is not the end; it is just the beginning! If a church worked as hard to get members through the other three steps of assimilation as they do get a new member, people would not be neglected. Also, small groups that are properly led, under dedicated leaders will solve the problem of neglect. The pastor must rearrange his thinking process.
Every church has VIP, VTP, and VDP in its membership. Obviously, those in leadership positions are the key to your ministry success. The sure way to disaster is to neglect your leaders. The very important people must have your attention and encouragement. The very teachable people must be taught how to do ministry. These are your future leaders. The very draining people must be ignored, and not allowed to discourage you or waste your time.

Lastly, the preacher must not neglect his study of the Word. Although, no one can see that part of your private life, it will become evident in your preaching and teaching if your are studious or not.