Marv Cowan Interview Part 1

One member is examining the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from a biblical perspective viewpoint when Mormonism is sponsored by Mormonism research ministry since 1979 Mormonism research ministry has been dedicated to equipping the body of Christ with answers regarding the Christian faith in a manner that expresses gentleness and respect. And now, your host for today's viewpoint on Mormonism welcome to this additional viewpoint on Mormonism.

I'm your host, Bill McKeever, founder and director Mormonism research ministry with me today is a good friend of mine Marv Cowan Marv, welcome to the show. It is great to have you and I was telling Eric many many times.

We've got to have Marv on the show because you and your book Mormon claims answered and of course the research of Sandra Tanner was very influential in my early years of study and Mormonism and I still remember this picture I have of me while I was on vacation with my wife, my very young family. At the time.

There's a picture of me sitting by the pool reading your book Mormon claims answered, not the 1989 edition. The early will and the white one with the green and brown, incarnate, and there I am one of our first vacations. As a husband and wife in Salt Lake City. It's great to have a wife that's behind you in this kind of work and putting up with all the stuff that I was doing in those early years, but welcome to viewpoint on Mormonism.

Marv and I want to introduce you to a lot of our listeners because I'm sure there are a lot of people out there that are not familiar with your background and you've been a part of the missionary effort to the Mormon people for decades. You have so much in the way of helping Christians better understand what Mormonism is all about, and I've always respected your encouragement to me personally, but also your integrity not to go off into the sensational but just dealing with the facts as they really are. And certainly that's always important when were talking the Mormons are so need to go off and all this gray area in sensationalism. We have too much of it is written down that we can glean from. And I think your book, though it wasn't a huge book. It was very concise but I think because of it being so concise. It became such a help but your background in Mormonism. We were talking before we started recording and you mentioned goes back to the time of Brigham Young wanted to talk about that. My great-grandparents were pioneers here in the select Valley and my grandparents were involved in Mormonism.

My parents weren't so I grew up in it. My parents were married in the temple and not my brother and sister and I were sealed and left the Logan Temple to them and I was an avid believer in Mormonism growing up when my first convert when I was in the seventh grade. I really believe that we had the truth we had a living prophet in touch with God and all that was very important to me and I thought this is something I need to share with my friends.

That's what I was doing that even in junior high school. How young missionary without being on a mission officially right yes even in the early years of my growing up, I got a hold of this little book. I think I mentioned to you when we were talking by butyl if that raise some questions and that made me want to study and then I met some Christian young people and the in talking with them. The raise some questions we were talking one time and critically about what happens after this life, and when I mentioned that like to be a God.

They want to know I got that idea and not exactly something most Christians would say among themselves that when you mentioned that I can imagine what it was normal, but it wasn't to them and the so they'll score I got that lesson will you know the Bible says that man is God once was, was God's man may be. And no, they didn't know the Bible said that so they'll score it was that I was in trouble because I didn't know where it came from. I just heard it over and over and usually we said things were in the Bible and in fact often times they were in the book of Mormon doctrine covenants are the pearl of great price or somewhere else in the course that goes back to Lorenzo Snow which is not really found in any of their standards were no it's not an I remember one time I was done on Temple Square and somebody asked me about that particular belief that there was a large group. This is back in the days when they still had men who were doctors and lawyers doing the tour work and the sky said. I went to a Nazarene College in and we were taught that Mormons believe that God was once a man and men could become God's he said is that true and the guy said no so I walked up to him and I said, did I understand you correctly, that that isn't what Mormonism teaches and the he said yeah I said do you have a copy of Talmadge's articles of faith here and another Mormon elder standing there said yes I said what you get for me please so we went got it might flip it open to page 430 and I said what is that say man is God once was God's man may beat and he said I didn't know that was there, I said, for the moment was on this particular page, but that doctrine is pretty will ingrain in Mormonism and I said I just can't believe you didn't know what he said will of course I knew it, but these people wouldn't understand that you go to get milk before you give me how many times I heard that I know. I think that alone. Marv should really wake up. A lot of Christians who just naturally assume that sometimes are hearing nothing but the unadulterated truth as to what Mormons believe when they go on some of these tours because I've been on a lot of these tours not only through temples during open houses and I've heard the tour guide say things that you know are not accurate and I challenge them privately. Afterward, sometimes publicly, depending on the infraction and I've had them admit what we have to stick to the script you know and were doing only what were told. I think that should wake up a lot of people to be very cautious as to what they believe when they go on a lot of these tours and when they go downtown to Temple Square because just as your your Christian friends saw something wrong when you said you hope to become a God. I don't think on Temple Square. They want visitors having raised eyebrows there trying to get them to think that their more mainstream. Wouldn't you agree absolutely. In the course today, and I'm sure you've seen that they talk a lot more about Jesus Christ and let you stew I had some missionaries a few years back, may wanted to teach me and I said just just summarize for me the most important thing that I must know if I'm going to die within the next month or whatever. What is the most important. I am familiar with Mormonism, but I want to hear from you. What you think is the most important, will they gave me the story of Joseph Smith and they talked for 15, 20 minutes and then I stopped and I said in all this time you mention Jesus Christ twice, once in the name your church and wants of Joseph Smith's son, but isn't Jesus Christ supposed to be the Savior is he what I really need if I'm going to be prepared for eternity, or will we take up for Christ said that's what I was asking when most important you think they would mention it if they really thought that that was all that important any right you I remember you teaching that one time years ago and that always stuck with me and I've use that approach several times if I was to die tomorrow. What would be the message you would have for me today. What do I need to know because when a person is in that kind of a situation.

A long term plan is probably not going to be the best solution. If you don't have a long time to carry it out. So what is the most important of course faith in Jesus Christ and what he did on the cross for his people is certainly going to be number one and and that's often overlooked, and I've had many missionaries. When I asked that very question. I learned from you Mark.

I learned from you because I've asked that question many times of missionaries and you're right, they often want to go into this whole long plan, we first to be baptized in the Mormon church that have to do this and you have to do that and there is a long list of things that people have to do which of course I think leads to buy there so much of a?

In the hearts of a lot of Latter Day Saints as to whether or not they've done enough right and what about you you are hearing from these Christians are questioning you on this and I'm amazed that they are challenging, which is good because are some Christians who think we shouldn't challenge Mormons if you just love them and it might response to that is, well, isn't challenging them way of loving. I'm glad someone challenge me when I was a young person about where I was, in light of eternity. I look back to those times as I cherish them that that my Christian friends were bold enough to challenge me knowing that I did not at that time agree with a lot of their positions regarding Christianity and I'm glad they departed absolutely in my case, all they did is just asked some questions and it was enough to spur me to start doing a little more research for myself and I determined then I was getting old enough I thought they'll be going on a mission before too long. And I've never really read the standard works all the way through… Or do that. I would think so.

Course I started with what I thought was the most important book. The book of Mormon and I was actually dumbfounded to read that thing through and not find much of anything. I had been taught growing up in the church. So then I read the doctrine and covenants, I found a lot more of the stuff was being taught and the pearl of great price and I finally got to the Bible and actually through that whole process which took quite a while. I haven't fully read the Bible, so I thought I better read it to. I almost bogged down through Leviticus and some of that wasn't sure what it was all about but I waited on through it all I had some questions.

Suicide went through. By the time I got to the New Testament. I really was beginning to see there's something different about this and one of the things that I noticed when I got to the book of acts was the emphasis on what they were preaching. It was always Jesus wasn't talking about the profits or other scripture or something else.

For example, in acts 542 in the temple and every house that she's not the teach and preach Jesus Christ. Acts eight verse five Philip went down to the city of Samaria preach Christ on the ask agent verse 35 he's dealing with the Ethiopian eunuch out of the desert. His reading Isaiah 53. He doesn't understand it and Philip again.

The same Scripture preached Jesus, and so forth… This is really interesting quite a different message yes and that was getting me to think more and then when I got into Romans and some of the elders really raise some eyebrows as far as I was concerned I was seeing something very different than what I thought it was here with an organization titled missions door right you have a website it's Utah Christian club and the pub is short for publications. Yet the state Utah Christian pub.com but if people wanted to write you personally had any questions very open to responding to any questions of them I have in your email address is Pastor Marv 80 the number 80 Pastor marv80@gmail.com right and if you have any questions to ask Marv. I'm sure by all means he would be glad to answer them. And I want to continue this conversation in tomorrow's broadcast because I as I said, I think Marv you've got a lot that is so worthy of sharing with people. Your experiences in section again. You had such a big impact on me as I was studying Mormonism in my early years in the 1970s, so I'm really outing us both when it comes to our age and abattoirs in his 80s and still as strong and I'm blessed by that and so bringing to continue this in tomorrow's show. Thank you for listening.

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