Dony Osmond a Mormon and Famous Entertainer



Bild  Deseret News, Mormon Channel

My Testimony

…Some want to know how Debbie and I have been able to maintain a strong marriage — over all these years — while living in the world of show business. Others want to know how we dealt with the challenges of raising a close and happy family in such difficult times.
How do we maintain a balance between work, and family life? Well, you know it’s not always easy, but the following pages are my attempt to explain a way of life that helps answer these kinds of questions. It gives me stability in a world, and in a business, that can be uncertain, compromising, and stressful. It’s the pattern that gives me direction in my life. And, I hope that this information will help answer some of your questions."

- Tracy's question:

"I am a Catholic and I have some problems with your beliefs. You believe that there was a great apostasy and yet that doesn’t make any sense. If there was a Great Apostasy then where’s the proof and how did the Catholic Church last for 2000 years? … If his Church disappeared even for a short time, the gates of hell would have prevailed. Therefore Christ’s Church could only be the Catholic Church since the Mormon Church didn’t exist until 1830. The only Church that can be traced back all the way to Christ is the Catholic Church and Christ is no liar. His Church would NEVER fall."

- Donny Osmond's Answer

 

Thank you for your question.  I have a lot of respect for good Catholics who are active in their faith. In fact, I have a dear friend who is a staunch Catholic and I respect his and all of my Catholic friends faithfulness very much. Their devotion to the Lord, Jesus Christ is admirable and I think will bring them eternal blessings.  I noticed that the leaders of our Church were involved in a council on the family at the Vatican recently.  It seems to me that our two denominations are among the few that are still standing for traditional family values against the trends in society.  A leader of our Church who was a guest at the Vatican several years ago expressed to them something like:  ”We are very grateful for the wonderful efforts of the Catholic missionaries over the last several hundred years.  Their introduction of Christianity to many countries throughout the world has paved the way for our missionaries with their message that Christ’s ancient Church has now been restored.”  He then told them with a smile:  ”We only wish you had done a better job in countries like China and India as it is now difficult to do our missionary work there.”

Certainly these missionary efforts have and do fulfill biblical prophecy:  (I will use the Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible)

14 This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed to the whole world as evidence to the nations. And then the end will come.
(Matthew 24:14)

Of course, the belief that there was an apostasy and now a restoration is the primary issue between your faith and ours.  There is so much that could be written in defending both positions and I have found that the debate is pretty much fruitless.  I know that for anyone to really know the truth they must seek that from God:

 [7] Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you.  (Matthew 7:7)

 

 [5] But if any of you want wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men abundantly, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.  [6] But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, which is moved and carried about by the wind.  (James 1:5-6)

 

​The truth will be revealed to the honest and sincere seeker by the Holy Spirit:​

 

[9] But, as it is written: That eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love him. [10] But to us God hath revealed them, by this Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 

​

 [11] For what man knoweth the things of a man, but the spirit of a man that is in him? So the things also that are of God no man knoweth, but the Spirit of God. [12] Now we have received not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit that is of God; that we may know the things that are given us from God. [13] Which things also we speak, not in the learned words of human wisdom; but in the doctrine of the Spirit, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. [14] But the sensual man perceiveth not these things that are of the Spirit of God; for it is foolishness to him, and he cannot understand, because it is spiritually examined. 

​  (1Corinthians 2:9-14)

You quoted the KJV but I have, just for comparison used the Catholic Bible with the following verse:

[24] Every one therefore that heareth these my words, and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock,[25] And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded on a rock.  [26] And every one that heareth these my words, and doth them not, shall be like a foolish man that built his house upon the sand, [27] And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall thereof.  

(Matthew 7:24-27)

You then wrote:  ”Now you and I both know that Jesus was a wise man and therefore would build his house upon rock. Therefore anything he would build would not fall.”

​My response:   ​

This council is given to those who “hear these my words, and doth them” who would accept and live the true gospel would be compared to building their house on a rock which would not fall.  This, I believe, as a universal and eternal truth and applies to every person who does or ever has or ever will live upon this earth.  My response to your interpretation of ​is passage is a little different, even though I agree that that the eternal work of Jesus Christ will not fail even though wicked men seem to have their free agency to crucify Jesus and murder the apostles as they did anciently

​ which we believe led to the withdrawal of the divine priesthood authority and the ceasation of divine revelation and t

hat the Church

​thus fell

away is predicted in the Bible:

[1] And we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of our gathering together unto him: [2] That you be not easily moved from your sense, nor be terrified, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by epistle, as sent from us, as if the day of the Lord were at hand. [3] Let no man deceive you by any means, for unless there come a revolt first ​…."
 (King James version reads “ …​
 for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first.")

 

​Other prophecies:​

[11] Behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I will send forth a famine into the land: not a famine of bread, nor a thirst of water, but of hearing the word of the Lord. [12] And they shall move from sea to sea, and from the north to the east: they shall go about seeking the word of the Lord, and shall not find it. (Amos 8:11-12)​
 

5] And the earth is infected by the inhabitants thereof: because they have transgressed the laws, they have changed the ordinance, they have broken the everlasting covenant.  [6] Therefore shall a curse devour the earth, and the inhabitants thereof shall sin: and therefore they that dwell therein shall be mad, and few men shall be left. (Isiah 24:5-6)
When one studies the events following the death of the Apostles, I believe it is obvious that the scramble over who would emerge to lead the Church resulted in terrible confusion and division until until Romes pagan emperor, Constantine intervened and called a council now referred to as the Council of Nicaea.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Council_of_Nicaea  History tells us that there were compromises made there concerning doctrine intended to unify the factions of Christianity which was beginning to threaten the empire, thus the emperor intervened by calling for this council.  The Nicene Creed came out of that event and even describes the nature of God stating that the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost is “one substance” which to mind is contrary to Biblical teachings. 
As I emphasized earlier, the reality of the claim of succession by the Catholic Church or the apostasy and restoration of the Lord’s ancient Church can, in my opinion, only be determined in each person’s heart, as they seek a confirmation from Heavenly Father himself through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Even a sure witness of the divine calling of Jesus, that he is the “Christ, the Son of the Living God” must be revealed to us by the Father, according the passage you quote:
[13]And Jesus came into the quarters of Caesarea Philippi: and he asked his disciples, saying: Whom do men say that the Son of man is? [14] But they said: Some John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets. [15] Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am? [16] Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. [17] And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. [18] And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock [revelation or divine direction as opposed to being led by men] I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 

(Matthew 16:13-18)

 

It is interesting that the passages of scripture that you quoted above from the King James version of the Bible and I from the Douay version are verses we often use to support doctrine that is so significant in our faitg. One is that in red above, because we see that Jesus is talking about divine direction through revelation when he added that the Church would be built upon such a rock that the gates of hell could not prevail against it is saying it in fact could change if it were left to the interpretations and changes that would be wrought by men. We cannot understand how the Church would be built upon a mortal man, even though Peter was a wonderful apostle and prophet, the ancient leader of the Church on earth after Jesus’s ascension.  Revelation from God to lead the Church, the Catholic Church as all other Christian denominations of which I am aware declares that divine revelation to the Church ceased at the death of the apostles.  We agree with that conclusion and can see that is why the church drifted in so many ways from the one Jesus formed as men, through their private interpretations and as a matter of convenience changed so many things.

[20] Understanding this first, that no prophecy of scripture is made by private interpretation.
[21] For prophecy came not by the will of man at any time: but the holy men of God spoke, inspired by the Holy Ghost. 

​

 (2 Peter 1:19-20)

 

​We must have living apostles and prophet who receive divine revelation if we even hope to claim​ to be organized and functioning as Christ’s ancient Church.

​Did you know that we declare that Peter, James and John appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in May 1829 and ordained them with the keys that were given to Peter as described in the very next verse after the mention of the Church being built upon the rock which we claim is divine revelation and which you claim is the man, Peter:​

[19] 

​ ​

 And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven. 

​  (Matthew 16:19)

These keys have to do with performing the sacred ordinances such as baptism, but to us, more significant are the keys required for sealing marriages that are performed in the holy temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints not “until death you part”, but for time and all eternity​.  The promised Elijah restored the specific keys of this priesthood as promised in the very last two verses in the Old Testament: [5] 

 Behold I will send you Elias the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 

​

 [6] And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers: lest I come, and strike the earth with anathema [utter destruction]​. 

​

 

It has been revealed through living prophets in these latter days that this work involved the searching out of our fathers and having the ordinances of the gospel performed for them in the sacred temples (also part of the restitution of all that had been spoken by the prophets from the beginning and this along with the preaching to “the spirits in prison”​ (see 1 Peter 3:18-20) or in other words those who had lived in the earth without the opportunity to learn and live the gospel of Christ and have its saving effect.  Then the meaning of “baptism for the dead” mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:49 was also revealed so this important saving ordinance also performed in the temples would be made available by proxy for all those who would accept the gospel in the spirit world.

These are just some things that could be written to show that the prophecy concerning the restoration of the gospel prior to Christ’s second coming has been fulfilled:

[19] Be penitent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out. [20] That when the times of refreshment shall come from the presence of the Lord, and he shall send him who hath been preached unto you, Jesus Christ, [21] Whom heaven indeed must receive, until the times of the restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of his holy prophets, from the beginning of the world.
This restoration will show that the “Church will prevail” and with the Lord’s plan to offer the gospel to all the spirits of those who never had the chance to receive it here and with the provision in the temple to perform by proxy all the needed ordinances for those will accept and adopt the gospel in their hearts, though they are dead, “the gates of hell” has not, nor cannot prevail against the Lord’s plan of salvation for all who will come unto him.
[6] For, for this cause was the gospel preached also to the dead: that they might be judged indeed according to men, in the flesh; but may live according to God, in the Spirit.

(1 Peter 4:6)

Tracy, I do not expect that this brief conversation could ever convince you or anyone that there was truly an apostasy and now a restoration, but I have felt the power of the Holy Spirit confirming to me of it’s truth and I invite you to seek from our Heavenly Father such a witness.
God bless.