Though you politely but, authoritatively, close your door when the smiling Mormons come knocking, and, you’re deft at deflecting hot Mormons trying to put those combo flirting-proselytizing moves on you, could you, in reality, be cozier with Mormonism than you’d want to disclose in your social and religious circles?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints website officially list 13 fundamentals of Mormonism.

As I was reading through them, I thought it was ironic that one of their points was identical to what several of the most outspoken, mainstream, Mormon detractors erroneously believe about salvation.

Article 3 of the fundamentals states: “We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.”

If that statement doesn’t make you almost soil your undies, I fear you may already have one leg in your sacred undergarment, and you’re not far from reaching for your “I heart Moroni” tee.

If you didn’t catch it,  the error is the idea that humanity can earn salvation through obedience to laws or ordinances.

However, I’m always surprised by Christians, across the denominational spectrum, who fall victim to the same “stank, wedgie” of teaching on the somethings we must do to seal the salvation deal.

Some Christians insist we must keep certain laws to be saved, while others assert it’s keeping all laws that does the trick. Some claim belonging to the right denomination is the ticket, while others say no, it’s believing and being baptized in only the correct manner.

Others declare repentance is the key to heaven, while others add that bearing the fruit of repentance is what unlocks the pearly gates.

Some state that non-tithers haven’t purchased the right ticket, while others insist the full fare to Paradise is producing enough good works. Exhaustingly, some Christians believe that to be saved you must do all the above while enduring to the end.

I’ve heard all these requirements for salvation – inadvertently – asserted at my own church.

What is wrong with Mormons is what is wrong with the rest of us.

Mormons, and all Christian pushers of salvation by works, need to replace their “almost savior,” their “maybe in the future, if I’m good enough savior” with The Victorious Savior.

Rather than scolding Mormon idiosyncrasies that we think are way out in the Moroni-sphere, Christians should be clearly pointing them to the Jesus, who does it all.

We are saved because Jesus paid the full price for our sins. His righteousness justifies us to God. Whatever we do, we cannot add anything to what Jesus has already done.

When we add something to Jesus, as a requirement for salvation, we’ve undercut the completeness of His sacrifice and discounted the supremacy of His righteousness.

I am not a big fan of Halloween. Never had been. I don’t like the thought of celebrating evil or dressing up my home as a haunted house. At the same time, I have fond memories of collecting candy door to door with just a simple code phrase. But if I participate in the age old tradition of handing out cavity creators on hallows eve, am I just embracing all that is evil? So, what is a Christian family to do?

Ignore the Day:
People do this all over town. Some say that they don’t want to partake in a heathen holiday so they turn off their lights, keep the volume of the TV down low and pretend that they aren’t home. Yeah. That will show ‘em.

Invite Others to Hell House:
On the opposite end of the spectrum, some create a “hell house” which is similar to a haunted house, only “Christian.” These are very popular in some towns and scare just the same as the “House of Terror” just down the street. Here though, guests witness what happens to people who have abortions, drink and drive, live a gay lifestyle and more. The only monsters here are the demons dragging them down to hell if they don’t repent of their sins. Many who attend end up raising their hands for salvation. I wonder how many of those salvations are real 24 hours later.

Trunk or Treat: 
These started sprouting up a few years back. The idea is that a group of people, (usually a church), dress up the trunks of their cars and park them in one parking lot. Each car has it’s own theme and kids go from one car to the next collecting candy – suspiciously just like traditional Trick or Treating. (I think it’s funny that 364 days of the year, we teach our kids not to take candy from a stranger in a car, and one day where we celebrate it.)

Hold a Harvest Carnival:
I think these are great and can get pretty elaborate. Churches across the country will be holding carnivals or parties that focus on harvest themes rather than monsters. The problem with these is that the neighborhood kids tend to go to the carnivals early and then leave with enough time so they can go trick or treating back home!

Jesus Ween:
That’s not a typo – it’s a real thing. It started in Baltimore as an alternative to Halloween. Instead of handing out candy, Christians are encouraged to dress up in white and hand out bibles and other “Christian” gifts instead. Now, I think these people have their hearts in the right place, but I think the idea may backfire on them. I think of the Peanuts TV special when the trick-or-treaters compare their loot: “I got a candy bar!” “I got a sucker!” “I got gum drops!” “I got a rock.” “I got a Bible.”

Share the Light:
This year, I’m planning on taking the advice of former pastor of mine. Instead of turning off the lights or leave his house entirely, my pastor would make sure that the porch lights were bright and welcoming and he would have one pumpkin lit up with a cross.

It’s no secret that Halloween has it’s pagan roots – carving pumpkins to ward off evil spirits for instance. But I highly doubt that anyone is thinking about that these days when they dress up their pumpkins any more than we do when we dress up our Christmas trees, which also was a pagan ritual once upon a time.

I don’t plan to wear white or hand out Bibles. I agree that the Bible is something to be treasured, but try telling that to six-year-old in a clown suit whose only goal for the night is to get lots and lots of chocolate. Instead, I’m planning on handing out regular sized candy bars. This is our first Halloween in a new neighborhood and we have lots of little children living around us. We are trying to create a relationship with these kids and their parents. Halloween allows us to meet each child and their parents, even for a brief couple of minutes, and make impact. What makes a bigger impact on Halloween than a full-size candy bar? Those kids will remember us, not because we’re the cool old people, but hopefully because they can tell that there is something else.

Originally posted  here.

Ryan Murphy, Zach Woodlee and Robert Ulrich—judges at the final callback of the latest episode of The Glee Project—weren’t the only ones who were shocked when Cameron Mitchell, a Christian, decided to quit the competition.

All of his remaining co-competitors–and the viewers–were, too.

But Mitchell said his leaving wasn’t a rash decision. He told Ology, “Going into it, I always knew that I did have strong beliefs and strong convictions. And I knew that there were going to be moments and times where that was going to be tested. I thought everything would be okay, but you know, as I went through the show and the weeks passed, and things like ‘the kissing thing’ happened… I knew that I [had to] stand firm to my beliefs, no matter what.”

Cameron refers to a previous episode in the reality TV series where co-competitor Lindsay Pearce surprised him with a kiss during their duet, “Baby It’s Cold Outside.” He was shocked afterwards, thinking of his girlfriend back home. He called his mother and cried.

He also refused to kiss co-competitor Hannah Mclalwain, one of his closest friends on the show, who was his video partner in the latest episode. This landed him on the bottom three again in the competition. But his rendering of Blackbird was so beautiful that it would have saved him. In fact, Ryan Murphy spoke personally to Mitchell to ask him not to quit.

Of that moment, Mitchell told EW, “It was crazy because Ryan Murphy is standing up for me and that’s great. We didn’t end up on bad terms. He was saying, ‘How much I respect your convictions. That’s very cool of you. Someone your age that’s hard to find.’ I’m just saying it takes some balls to say no to Ryan Murphy.”

Without a doubt, the choice to leave seems like one heck of a way to say goodbye to a great opportunity. But at The Television Critics Association press conference Mitchell said, “You know, in the moment, to some people it might seem like a hasty decision. But it was something that I truly felt in my heart. It was something that really spoke to me.

“And when you make a decision like that, I think it’s really hard to regret it. You just have to follow what you believe. And I believe that, you know, when a door closes, another door opens. And it’s only going to lead to great things. So I don’t regret it.”

It would seem, though, that Mitchell is one guy who has a knack for taking huge risks. When he first auditioned for The Glee Project, he was the only one who sang an original composition for Ryan Murphy—a move often considered as suicidal when you are auditioning for a reality television program.

The song got him in, and he left as one of the last few standing. He’s still got the same girlfriend, and he released his original composition, Love Can Wait, on iTunes last week. As of Tuesday this week, it ranked No. 16, right after Britney Spears, Katy Perry and Elie Goulding.

He told Ology, “I would love to continue to do acting. I would love to learn and be more comfortable with it- because one day, honestly, I would love to end up on Glee. Maybe right now just wasn’t the time.”

Wycliffe Associates noted recently that there is not one complete Bible for the deaf community anywhere in the world.  In fact, out of hundreds of deaf languages globally, it is only the American deaf language that has a complete New Testament, Mission News Network (MNN) reported recently.

Wycliffe engages in translating the Bible into all global languages.  So far 6,848 spoken languages exist globally, and 2,393 still need Bible translations.  This is aside from their latest endeavor for the deaf, 2TheAdvocate said.

Elizabeth Parks, who with her husband Jason are sign language survey coordinators for Wycliffe said, “There are more than 400 distinct sign languages, and they develop separately from the spoken languages around them,” 2TheAdvocate reported.

Parks noted that sign languages have totally different grammar and concepts from the spoken and written language of a country.  She noted, “They are actually dreaming in sign language,” hence, sign is their true language of communication, 2TheAdvocate reported. 

Bruce Smith of Wycliffe said that one cannot presume that because the deaf can see, that they can read subtitles, say, from a television program.  American Sign Language has true distinctions.  Wycliffe wants to do video translations for the various sign languages around the world, MNN reported. 

Wycliffe is working with Deaf OpportunityOutReach (DOOR) International for this project.   Smith said the illiteracy rate is higher among the deaf, especially those from poorer countries.  He estimates the project may take 10 years, MNN reported.

Parks, who has travelled extensively as a missionary, said in some countries the deaf are regularly mistreated, hidden away or beaten.  Parents are ashamed and don’t allow them to leave home, and some serve as slave labor.  Parks expressed hope that part of their work will help these countries to have a better understanding of their deaf family members.

Aside from DVDs Wycliffe and DOOR International hope to try other electronic media as technology develops, such as 3-D animation depending on cost, ease of use, and ability of the animation to portray natural-looking sign language.

Currently, Wycliffe and DOOR are working on completing DOOR’s international headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya; as well as beginning a specific translation project in San Jose, Costa Rica and eventually throughout Latin America.

Wycliffe is also asking for volunteers who have technical and life skills to do work such as constructing roads to get to remote areas, office work or renovate facilities.  In this way, the translators can truly focus on simply translating each language.