Could we say that the church has failed to wake up very many people so, by default, a Mormon — Glenn Beck — has made quite a stir and has become an official spiritual leader? He rallied hundreds of thousands last weekend with themes of faith and love of our country. Americans are desperate and fearful of what is coming upon this land so they look to a Mormon for leadership. I am glad his Saturday event was successful for just some of these reasons:

* Americans came to celebrate America after the highest leaders in our land have trashed her around the world.

* They focused on what was right in America and they also honored our military.

* Faith and patriotism were lifted up — two items that the Left despises.

* Attendees were passionate — traveling thousands of miles and, once arriving in D.C., walking for miles, even if handicapped.

* Conservative Americans must gather together to fortify one another. Such events strengthen one another and offer hope. Finding kindred spirits in a depressing age is essential.

* Whether the Left heard or not, the attendees sent a message that they are fed up. November is around the corner and they had better look out.

In light of the positive aspects of the honoring America weekend, could there possibly be a down side? I tried to do a fair and balanced radio program last Saturday, August 28, with Brannon Howse, former Mormon Ed Decker, and apologetics’ expert Eric Barger. We raised a few issues, and you can hear them here. I have received some thanks for the honesty and integrity of the two hours, and a few hate e-mails and calls for the position the panel took, which will be explained in the paragraphs below.

The theme of the Friday gathering of spiritual leaders and the Saturday rally was an encouragement to turn back to God. The not-so-subtle theme was “many faiths, but one God.”

I believe many conservative Christians would have been relieved if Glenn had not brought out Mormon doctrine that very few are familiar with. He stated at the Saturday event that the American Indians are the “chosen people” — blatant Mormon doctrine. The crowd applauded in approval. You can view that here at the 4:30 mark.

He stated — and has affirmed this on his radio and television programs — that God is the only answer. While much was troublesome last weekend, who else is sticking their neck out saying we have to turn back to God and gathering hundreds of thousands in the process? It would be wonderful if Franklin Graham or even Joel Rosenberg could attract a half-million people and deliver the true gospel. We aren’t quite there yet. Again, by default, we defer to Glenn Beck.

The weekend opened on Friday night, Augsust 27, with Glenn’s “Divine Destiny” program which again, is straight out of Mormonism. Many participants have implied, or blatantly stated, that Glenn is a “saved Mormon” or on the way to becoming one.

Friend and frequent radio guest John McTernan, was present both days just to observe. He writes on his blog, “There were several prayers offered at the Friday event and none were made in the name of Jesus. I was deeply grieved after I left.

“On Saturday, I attended the rally. If it had been just political, I could accept Beck as a leader; however, it went way beyond that. I am not questioning anything about Beck’s character or motives. What I am deeply grieved about is that this was not led by the real church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Is America in such desperate spiritual condition that masses of Christians will follow a Mormon for spiritual revival?”

McTernan continues, “The sheep in America are desperate and fearful of what is coming, so they look to a Mormon for leadership. A Mormon leading a meeting like this for America turning back to God should have God-fearing pastors in America on their knees crying out to God for mercy. I am grieved, not so much with Glenn Beck, but that the church is so pitifully weak that a Mormon can now lead God’s people, and they do not see the spiritual danger.”

What are major Mormon beliefs and how do they play into this scenario? When God is the professed focus of the August 27-28 weekend, what is the deeper meaning? And Glenn is outspoken about his Mormon faith. He so-stated that fact many times over the weekend and in the weeks and months leading up to it. It was not subtle or hidden. But Glenn does not bring out the bullet points below because it reads like science fiction.

Mormon theology teaches:

* God was born and raised on another planet.

* He has a harem of wives.

* They produce spirit-babies that are sent to earth; there they gain bodies and earn sainthood.

* Jesus is the brother of Lucifer.

* Jesus is the chosen/elected savior by a council of gods from other worlds.

* America is the promised land, not Israel. The holy city is Independence, Missouri, not Jerusalem. Jesus’ latter-day agenda is to return to Missouri.

* The U.S. Constitution is as sacred as the Book of Mormon. In the latter days, it will be under siege and will be saved by Mormons. Thus, we must “reclaim America” to save the Constitution and usher in a genuine age of Mormon leadership. They want to build a Mormon kingdom on earth, similar to modern day Dominionists/Kingdom Now proponents within Christianity. Founder Joseph Smith had a socialistic philosophy and wished to have a society that shared things in common.

* America’s founding fathers were “spirit babies” who created a “sacred Constitution.”

* Salvation is works-based and not through grace and faith.

This is what Glenn Beck believes. Is the god of this system, this faith, the one he referred to when he stated, “Today, America turns back to God?” Is his god concept one we can turn back to?

For greater insights, visit the Web site of former Mormon and radio guest, Ed Decker. Also visit the apologetics’ site of Eric Barger.

Brannon Howse has done extensive radio programs and written cutting-edge articles on this issue for over a week.

Jim Garlow, a popular and influential pastor who partnered with the Mormon faithful in California to defend traditional marriage, was quoted recently in CNN’s Belief Blog, saying, “I have interviewed persons who have talked specifically with Glenn about his personal salvation — persons extremely well known in Christianity — and they have affirmed (using language evangelicals understand), ‘Glenn is saved. He understands receiving Christ as Savior.’ ”

In short, Mormonism has a different holy book, father, Jesus, concept of grace, salvation, end-times, etc. You cannot be a “saved Mormon.” Evangelicals who should know better already call him a “brother in Christ.” Some of those share the Mormon “dominion” of the earth and this is their connection. Promoting this false end-time theology of making the earth perfect seems to trump everything else. We can’t save the earth and make it perfect. Jesus Christ has to return to do that.

So, was the following the purpose? Brannon Howse has posted a story at his Worldview Weekend site that the LDS Examiner states through Mormon writer Greg West, “As a Mormon, I have to consider an unintended message throughout Beck’s work, which has culminated in this event. That message is: ‘Mormons are Christian believers. Despite nearly two centuries of misrepresentation and religious envy by sectarian Christianity, Beck has achieved the visibility, prominence, and has had the time day after day, week after week, to speak openly and truly about his core beliefs. Those statements of faith have disoriented and confused those who had previously believed the lies about Mormons.”

West has proved our point. “Evangelicals and Mormons Together” will be next. Why not? A Mormon successfully called a nation back to God.

Most who stand with Glenn, however, do not embrace this theology. Some Christian leaders are just deceived and others think it is hip and cool to align themselves with a man who is so prominent and so pro-America.

John McTernan states, “I know Mormonism real well. There is a Mormon prophecy that America is going to be nearly destroyed with the Constitution hanging by a thread. A Mormon savior would arrive and lead the Mormon church to save America. I can see this coming into play real soon. Maybe the revival Beck is talking about is a massive conversion to Mormonism.”

We sincerely hope Glenn Beck will become a true brother in Christ. We can pray to that end and also that Christian leaders will sharpen their discernment and understand the disservice they are doing to the body of Christ by exalting an unsaved man, and allowing him to be a virtual shepherd over millions of Americans who just want to take back America.

In Luke 21 there are several references to troubled times. In verse 25 it says nations will be in distress with perplexity suggesting that problems may be so grave, no one knows how to solve them. In verse 26, it refers to men’s hearts failing them from fear, especially when they see what may be coming upon them.  In this context, the perfect storm is coming.

Rahm Emmanuel made the often-quoted statement that we should never let a crisis go to waste.  Greece has a crisis. You may think that it is such a small nation that it isn’t worth exploring the deeper meaning. The real problem is contagion. Greece is just one of many socialist nations in Europe. Thus, Greece has been funding massive social programs and accumulating huge debt. Nations that could follow right behind Greece — and soon — include Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Great Britain, among others. All wobbly European nations are hoping the European Union will bail them out of trouble. They may try but the financial issues are so formidable that it will not work.

As Gary Bauer of American Values says, “Socialist policies have resulted in a Europe that has been far less than resilient to the economic crisis. Many of the over-spending, over-borrowing and over-expanding European Union governments are heading towards financial bankruptcy and utter collapse. And yet Obama and his allies still insist on remaking America in Europe’s crumbling image.”

Bauer continues, “Europe’s fiscal chaos is an affirmation of Thomas Jefferson’s axiom that ‘a government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have.’ The violence in Greece recently is the inevitable result of too much government. And given the Obama administration’s socialist impulses, its addiction to spending and its unflinching devotion to unions, there’s no reason to think a Greek tragedy could not happen in America.”

Greece had no choice but to cut some austerity programs and further tax people. Most of the population of Greece is getting some kind of government benefit. Until the collapse, they could retire at 53. Now the age is raised to 60. The people in that nation had grown dependent on big government and handouts. The free lunch was pulled out from under them and parts of the nation went up in flames with three deaths. This is what happens when the “entitlement mentality” pervades nations.

Today Greece, tomorrow America. Debt and deficits are the gifts that keep on destroying!  People do not willingly give up benefits, particularly if they have benefited from them for years or decades. Most people are self-focused. They often do not see the long-term damage being done due to these entitlements. And politicians don’t seem to think about the consequences either. They are busy buying votes that always come with hand-outs.

America should be paying very close attention to socialist Europe. This is exactly what the movers and shakers in Washington and around the world want to see America become. We may honor their wishes. Our unfunded liabilities exceed $100 trillion. Yes, that’s trillion with a “t”.  The inevitable outcome of the Obama administration spending will be either bankruptcy or austerity.  It will likely be both but the cutting of entitlements will likely produce the same kind of chaos that we saw in Greece this spring. Since President Lyndon Johnson, we have doled out trillions of dollars making millions of people dependent on big government. By now, they know of no other lifestyle. If it is yanked, these people will not go quietly into the night.  Capitalism is not the problem. Handouts and socialism are.

What is the deeper meaning here? The world is being bombarded with what the Bible calls “birth pangs.” God is trying to get our attention. The world does not understand end-time scenarios so God is trying to wake up the church. We are seeing financial chaos, volcanoes, earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, oil spills — all of disastrous proportion. To solve the financial issues, the world will willingly walk into the one-world system with a one-world currency. Right now both the Euro and the dollar are crumbling. People will be open to a powerful, charismatic man who will tell everyone he can fix it all. The Bible calls him the Antichrist. He will be empowered to do miracles, signs and wonders, and pull rabbits out of hats.

This man will be handed the perfect storm referenced above — a crumbling of society on a global scale. As the passage in Luke states, men’s hearts will be failing them for fear. While the real fulfillment of such signs is in the Tribulation, we cannot help but see the stage being set for that.

This could be a long, hot summer or perhaps the chaos will hold off for another year or two. But we know that it will come. Most nations today are dependent almost exclusively on government and now America is no exception. And Rahm Emmanuel and his associates will not let the scenario go to waste.