WF Debates Local Mormons 

FORT PAYNE, AL -- Tom Forehand, staff missionary at Watchman Fellowship's 
Birmingham, AL, office, joined with Ed Ables, a Baptist missionary to 
Argentina, in a doctrinal debate with four local Mormons. 

Held at the Second Baptist Church in Fort Payne, the LDS church was 
represented by two missionaries, Elders Mark Chytraus of Utah and Robert 
Armstrong of California along with two local members of the LDS church, Jack 
Bohning and John Poole. 

The debate was structured with each side having 40 minutes to present their 
views and a time of discussion following. Clifton Brown, pastor, mediated. 

The Mormons used their initial 40 minutes to outline a brief history of the 
Mormon church including the story of how Joseph Smith founded the church and 
the movement of the Mormons to Utah following Smith's death. 

Armstrong then outlined the 13 Articles of Faith of the LDS church and 
explained that they were similar to orthodox Christianity. Some of the 
parallels drawn were a belief in God, a belief in punishment for sin and a 
belief in salvation through Jesus Christ. 

Following the Mormon's presentation, Forehand and Ables used their allotted 40 
minutes to outline the differences between Mormonism and orthodox 
Christianity. 

The major points brought out were the Mormon views of God having a body of 
flesh and bone and that he is actually just an exalted man and all Mormon men 
share the goal of becoming a god. Also discussed was the concept that God is 
married to many wives in order to propogate spirit children and that God was 
likewise conceived by his father. 

Well-versed in early Mormon history, Forehand presented the now-renounced LDS 
doctrine that Adam is the god of this planet and should be worshipped as such. 

This doctrine, taught by both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young was quietly 
erased from Mormon doctrine after the public responded unfavorably to its 
tenets. 

Along the same lines of altered doctrine, Ables and Forehand presented the 
fact that over 4,000 changes have been made in the Book of Mormon since its 
first publication in 1830. They quoted the Mormons' own sources who stated 
that, "every word, sentence, comma and period (was) dictated by God" in the 
original. 

In response to Forehand and Ables' charges, the LDS representatives accused 
them of false witness, quoting out of context and of persecuting the Mormon 
church. No effective refutation of the arguments presented were offered. 

Ables answered with charges of cultism, hypocrisy, altering history, and 
coming into the church under false pretenses. 

As heated as the debate was at certain points, local reporter, Elton Roberts, 
observed that the seven panelists left the church smiling, shaking hands with 
each other and expressing concern for each other's souls. 

Even though the public debate ended at 9:30 p.m., Tom Forehand and Ed Ables 
were able to talk with the LDS representatives until midnight, sharing with 
them the love of Jesus and the True Gospel of the Bible. 

(The above was condensed from the Times-Journal of Ft. Paine, Alabama 
newspaper under the date June 23, 1988 p. 1). 

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