Something to Ponder as a Mormon...How to Test the Spirits Whether They are from God

Ever since resigning from the Mormon Church and realizing all of the false and Satanic doctrines being taught in that church and performed in its temples, I have been pondering how I missed it all for 54 years!

I was totally CLUE-LESS!!

I was 100% indoctrinated from birth, and I believed it all until I wanted "more Jesus" in my life, and I couldn't find Him in that church (you can read about my Jesus Journey here).

Since being out and away from any church, I have delved deep into the Bible, and many months ago, I came across this scripture in 1 John 4:1-4 that I had NO IDEA even existed in the Bible.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and now it is already in the world.

"come in the flesh"

So that got me thinking...

When had I ever heard in the Mormon/LDS Church a prophet or an apostle close his talk by declaring that Jesus had "come in the flesh?"

Nothing came to my memory--but not much does these days with aging, so I didn't put much stock in it!!

Well, this past Sunday (it's Christmas time as I write this post), I attended a Bible-based church and we were standing and singing and worshiping Jesus (my favorite part! And something we never did in the Mormon/LDS Church).

So we start singing "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," and I say to myself, "I know this song!"

You see, there aren't many songs I know the words to in this church because they are not the ones I grew up singing in the LDS Church.

Anyways, we sing the first verse and then I'm all ready to start singing the 2nd verse....

EXCEPT, ALL THE WORDS ARE DIFFERENT

And then we sing the 3rd verse, and I knew all those words because that's the SECOND verse in the LDS Hymnal.

WHAT??!!

So I do my research, and come to find out, the LDS Hymnal that I grew up singing from does NOT have the 2nd ORIGINAL verse. The second verse in the LDS Hymnal is the third verse of the original song. The ORIGINAL second verse is gone, missing, nada in the LDS Hymnal.

I'm intrigued and wonder why...

Why was the second verse completely REMOVED?

Then the scripture of 1 John 4:1-3 pops into my mind:

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and now it is already in the world.

And then it all makes sense--thank you Holy Spirit

WOW.

And then I went to see if that scripture of 1 John 4:1-3 was in the last "Come Follow Me" manual from 2023 when the church curriculum taught the New Testament--the Sunday School manual for the entire church to discuss in Gospel Doctrine class...

Imagine my surprise (well, not really) to see that those verses were COMPLETELY SKIPPED and the lesson picked up with 1 John 4:8.

But I'm probably just making something out of nothing...

I mean, there's not a lot of time to sing and teach EVERYTHING on Sundays...

so why not just REMOVE the stuff that teaches and testifies that Jesus came in the FLESH.

I'm sure it's just a mistake...

an oversight...

and it must not be that important to know how to test the true spirits of God vs the false Anti-Christ...

I mean, who would make that mistake??

Especially in a church that claims to be "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints?"

Don't latter-day saints also need to know how to test the spirits?

Or maybe that church is afraid to have its members test its real spirit...?