Salt Lake City is a Mormon stronghold. A cultish church known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was established there by false prophet Joseph Smith settled in Utah in 1847.
The false religion propagated rapidly and by 1896, the church stood at more than 250,000 members—most of who lived in Utah, according to History.com. Today, Utah is home to more than 2 million Mormons, or about a third of the total population of Latter Day Saints.
The spiritual climate in Utah, especially Salt Lake City where the Mormon stronghold was erected, is tight. In Kenneth E. Hagin’s book, Exceedingly Growing Faith, he gives an account of a harrowing experience in Salt Lake City:
Demonic Encounters Outside the Temple
“In 1954, after holding meetings in Oregon, we stopped in Salt Lake City to see the great Mormon Temple on the way home. As non-Mormons, we could not go inside, but a guide told us about the interior. He explained how the Mormons had transported the stones by ox cart and had built the temple to last for eternity.
“On the spire of the temple is the likeness of an angel blowing a trumpet. This statue, of copper overlaid with gold leaf, is 12 1/2 feet high. It is supposed to be the angel Moroni, who supposedly appeared to Joseph Smith in the 1820s and told him to dig up the gold plates from which Smith said he translated the Book of Mormon.
“I cannot accept the Book of Mormon. I have read it, but it does not agree with the New Testament. As the Apostle Paul said, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8).
“As we stood there on the lawn listening to the guide, I heard someone behind me fall so hard his head popped up and hit again. A man said that a boy had fallen. The guide said, “That happens very often when I'm telling this story.” He thought it was a supernatural sign to corroborate what he was telling. He said to drag the boy back around the tree; he would come to in a minute. I did not look back, but my wife did, and she said it was our son, Ken Jr., who was 15 years old at the time.
“He had hit the ground so hard that his shoes were kicked off. His knees were drawn right up to his chest. His hands were twisted, and his mouth was working in such convulsions that he was chewing his tongue. His eyes were set and glazed. Faster than machine gun bullets can fly, the devil shot his darts into my mind and said, ‘You said that that couldn't happen to your child.’
“He gave me mental visions of my son having epilepsy or some other kind of disease and being in an institution while I was out preaching. But, thank God, I knew how to write my ticket with God. I grabbed my son by the arms to lift him up. He was stiff.
“I said, ‘Come out of him!’ I had sensed evil spirits when I walked on those grounds. I said, ‘I command you to come out of him in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ!’ Ken straightened out and blinked his eyes. He called to me, and asked where he was and what had happened to him. I told him that the devil had knocked him down, but that Jesus was bigger than the devil. We wrote our own ticket of victory. The guide had said it was a supernatural manifestation verifying what he had said, but I got rid of his manifestation with the Name of Jesus.”
Can We See Revival in Salt Lake City?
There are Christian churches—even Spirit-filled Christian churches—in Salt Lake City. Nevertheless, the Mormon stronghold is real. In fact, news reports reveal the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is seeing a revival within its membership under the leadership of their new “prophet.”
But can we see a true Christian revival in Salt Lake City. I believe we can and will if the saints pray. As of Oct, 2020, the Awakening Prayer Hubs movement has two prayer hubs in Utah—one in West Valley City and one in Salt Lake City. (You can find them here.) When I heard one of our prayer hub leaders praying so passionately, I heard the Lord say, “revival in Utah.”
I know it’s His will to revive the Christian churches there. Beyond that, I know it’s His will to see Mormons encounter the truth Jesus Christ. So where do we go from here? Praying and evangelizing. Will you join with me in prayer?
- Pray signs and wonders will follow true Christ followers in Utah.
- Pray the intercessors will rise up with a passion for souls in Utah.
- Pray for revival in the Protestant churches in Utah that makes headlines and stir curiosity among pre-believers.
- Pray for God to encounter Mormons in dreams and visions to prove who He really is.
- Pray for evangelists to rise up in boldness to preach an uncompromising gospel in Utah.
