Who are the MORMONS and what do they believe

[SweetSue92]

Spreading malicious lies and distortions about a religion other than your own does nothing to cast your own beliefs in any good light. Do you understand this? You're doing much more to discredit your own religion than you are to discredit mine. A religion that truly reflected what God would have us believe and do does not need to slander others in order to uphold itself. Lies and deception are of the Devil, not of God; and you are clearly showing us which side it is that you serve and represent.

We are not discrediting our own religion. We are rightly and justly upholding the truth of Christ. The truth is always worthy.

 

[SweetSue92]

The Ten Commandments were give to one man alone also. So are you inferring that it takes a host of people in order for God to reveal his word to mankind? Jesus was one man. Can we not trust his words?

Joseph Smith allowed one of his helpers to take a part of the manuscript home to show his wife. His wife was not to be trusted and that part of the manuscript came up missing. God, with his foreknowledge counseled Joseph not to give the manuscript to his helper but allowed him to have his own free agency. All the teachings that were in that part of the manuscript were also included in later parts of the Book of Mormon and was not needed. This was all foreseen by God himself and in all His wisdom made a way ahead of time for this mistake.

As Article of Faith #8 tells us:

8 We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.

We do believe that the Bible is the very word of God. However, we do not believe that all translators of the Bible were inspired and necessarily translated the Bible in its perfect translation. We believe however that the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God and is a good translation though some corrections may have been made. We use both the Bible and Book of Mormon to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ. As you can tell from many of my previous postings of scripture, I use the Bible alot.

Joseph Smith was said to translate the Book of Abraham which, he professed, was about Abraham. It was not. It was a standard Egyptian funeral document. The entire thing was false. As usual, he grifted the entire thing.

Anyone can look it up and see.

 

[SweetSue92]

So lets look at 3:
3 We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

First off, this article of faith tells us that it is through the atonement of Christ that we can be saved. But it does recognize that Jesus does have his requirements of us before he will extend his mercy. Take for example two verse mentioned above:

John 3:1-5
1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Here Jesus is telling us that unless we received the baptism of water and the baptism of the Holy Ghost, we cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Baptism and the receiving of the Gift of the Holy Ghost are two critical ordinances that if not received, you cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Luke 13:2-5
2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilæans were sinners above all the Galilæans, because they suffered such things?
3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Except we partake of the teaching of repentance we will all likewise perish.

It is critical that we not only believe that Jesus is the Christ but that we follow his teachings in order to be saved. He expects all to who wish to enter the kingdom of God to be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. He also expects all who wish not to perish to live by his teaching of repentance.

Yes, Jesus did sacrifice himself on our behalf so that we could repent and receive forgiveness. But he does expect us to follow his teachings. You won't see the unrepentant in the kingdom of heaven.

So the thief on the cross. The one Jesus told, today you will be with me in Paradise. Jesus wasn't telling the truth about that? That man didn't get to heaven after all because he didn't fulfill your requirement of baptism? Luke 23:43

 

[justinacolmena]

The Church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints does not excommunicate or shun boys, you are referring to a group that is NOT of the church.

Girls dump their boyfriends and then the girls' fathers along with certain older men step in as pillars of the community and take on an overly protective or militantly defensive role as "patriarchs."

I wouldn't say exclusively the church of L.D.S., but inasmuch as there are other groups that are "NOT of the church" as you say, it sounds like they have been excommunicated or shunned already.

 

[Gabe Lackmann]

This succinctly said what I was going to. Mormons are almost without fail very kind people. But their founders were not, and they do indeed belong to a cult. Joseph Smith was absolutely a con man and a grifter.

The Book of Abraham is a perfect example

Could not have stated it better myself.

 

[DudleySmith]

On the whole modern Mormons have a positive effect on their children and state government, so I don't mind them and their quirks all that much. I avoid pure theological arguments as much as possible. for obvious reasons, outside of blatant lying about what is actually in the books themselves, the orthodox versions, and just personally go by what they do and not so much on what they say.

As for how honest the 'upper levels' of any organization are, I just assume corruption first, and wait for evidence to the contrary; this is why I defend some ministers and not others, and I'm also fine with Catholicism as a sect but not always with the Papacy and Vatican itself.

 

[justinacolmena]

On the whole modern Mormons have a positive effect on their children and state government

Do please explain...

 

[SweetSue92]

Could not have stated it better myself.

Really when you learn about the Book of Abraham, which is one story among so many, you just think....whoa. And how.

For those not aware, Joseph Smith basically bought an Egyptian funeral breathing document off some guy and "translated" it and claimed it was about Abraham. The entire thing was fake and false. You could do this, see, in the early 1800s. When correctly translated, it was again, just a common funeral document and wholly Egyptian. Nothing about Abraham. I believe Mormons have some hodgepodge defense that is wholly inconceivable.

How the Book of Abraham Exposes the False Nature of Mormonism | Cold Case Christianity

By taking an evidential approach to Christian and Mormon scripture, I confirmed the veracity of Christianity and guarded myself from the falsity of Mormonism

coldcasechristianity.com

 

[DudleySmith]

Do please explain...

What is there to explain, exactly?

http://utahdatapoints.com/2017/02/how-corrupt-is-utah/

How corrupt is Utah?​

At length, former Utah Attorney General John Swallow is finally scheduled to face a jury this week. No matter how Swallow’s story ends, however, it marks an aberration. Federal statistics show that Utah has had very low levels of corruption and political malfeasance over the past several years.

 

[justinacolmena]

What is there to explain, exactly?

I think you did explain some here.

As for how honest the 'upper levels' of any organization are, I just assume corruption first, and wait for evidence to the contrary; this is why I defend some ministers and not others, and I'm also fine with Catholicism as a sect but not always with the Papacy and Vatican itself

They why can't people stop tithing and bleed these corrupt state+church organizations dry of money? Good grief. You don’t need all that earthly hierarchy and special relations with state government in order to worship God.

 

[Gabe Lackmann]

Really when you learn about the Book of Abraham, which is one story among so many, you just think....whoa. And how.

For those not aware, Joseph Smith basically bought an Egyptian funeral breathing document off some guy and "translated" it and claimed it was about Abraham. The entire thing was fake and false. You could do this, see, in the early 1800s. When correctly translated, it was again, just a common funeral document and wholly Egyptian. Nothing about Abraham. I believe Mormons have some hodgepodge defense that is wholly inconceivable.

How the Book of Abraham Exposes the False Nature of Mormonism | Cold Case Christianity

By taking an evidential approach to Christian and Mormon scripture, I confirmed the veracity of Christianity and guarded myself from the falsity of Mormonism

coldcasechristianity.com

Yes, when I was a child my father decided that we were going to be Mormon. It was a phase, among many for my father. My mother, the dutiful wife tried to support him. However, my mother's side were Roman Catholic, and my father's side were Baptist. Both sides were vocal opponents of the move. We were most definitely on the road to Hell from all reports. It all lasted for about a year. I learned a lot.

 

[DudleySmith]

I think you did explain some here.

They why can't people stop tithing and bleed these corrupt state+church organizations dry of money? Good grief. You don’t need all that earthly hierarchy and special relations with state government in order to worship God.

Why should they be drained of money if they aren't all that corrupt?

In other news, Mormonism has a very practical side that everybody should learn from.

Food Storage

Gospel topic information and links to additional resources

www.churchofjesuschrist.org

 

[Colin norris]

The Mormon religion was formed about 400 years ago and joined in the business of fleecing thise idiots who believe there is a god.
It was started by a convicted criminal but it's typical just how gullible the godbotherers are.

Leigh all you want boy. I am right and you know it. Stick with your silly bible big. It's good enough for those with no brains.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Girls dump their boyfriends and then the girls' fathers along with certain older men step in as pillars of the community and take on an overly protective or militantly defensive role as "patriarchs."

I wouldn't say exclusively the church of L.D.S., but inasmuch as there are other groups that are "NOT of the church" as you say, it sounds like they have been excommunicated or shunned already.

you are referring to the fundamental church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints. it is not of the church they left around 1920 over polygamy,

 

[justinacolmena]

you are referring to the fundamental church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints. it is not of the church they left around 1920 over polygamy,

Girls dump their boyfriends, it's ladies night out all the time at church, a few older men are left with a broad grin on their faces, and the boys are getting off the property and distancing themselves from the rampant lesbianism and sex orgies before they get arrested.

 

[Devils_Advocate]

The Christian Church, collectively, bear so little resemblance to what Christ taught--that his religion might as well be said to be dead.
LDS theology sounds like si-fi to me--but many of them do a lot of good..and are good people. As do many Christians--of course, some bomb abortion clinics in the name of God--and some use their faith to foster a false sense of superiority. Humans are tribal..and Church is just another tribe.

I am not Mormon but I have yet to meet a Mormon that does not try to be kind, caring and have a sense of doing the right thing when it come to community outreach.

When they approach me they know when I say no do not preach to me they leave me alone and go on unlike some other Christian communities.

Do they have weird things about their Church?

Yes, but so do all the other Christian Churches, so why do we judge each other so harshly.

I do not agree with most Christians but I truly do get along with Mormons more than I do with Jehovah’s Witness or other branches of the Christian faith.

 

[Devils_Advocate]

Girls dump their boyfriends and then the girls' fathers along with certain older men step in as pillars of the community and take on an overly protective or militantly defensive role as "patriarchs."

I wouldn't say exclusively the church of L.D.S., but inasmuch as there are other groups that are "NOT of the church" as you say, it sounds like they have been excommunicated or shunned already.

Your are writing about the FLDS which is not part of the mainstream LDS Church and are shun.

 

[alang1216]

It (Mormonism) is still a cult. A cult are a set of beliefs that stipulate that only their group has the truth. No one else can have it nor can they get it, unless they belong to that group. One MUST be a member. In other words, one couldn't simply read the Bible and pray to GOD. One would have to attend only a specific organization also. Examples of such would be Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, and Scientology.

We differ on our definitions of 'cult'. You judge a religion/cult on how closely it conforms to your theology, I don't have an ideology. According to my definition:

• a cult is something you join, a religion is something you are born into
• a cult is headed by a charismatic individual with a unique interpretation of an existing religion, a religion is an established, multi-generational institution existing after the cult leader has died

 

[EvilEyeFleegle]

The Mormon religion was formed about 400 years ago and joined in the business of fleecing thise idiots who believe there is a god.
It was started by a convicted criminal but it's typical just how gullible the godbotherers are.

LDS was formed in 1830---about 191 years ago--but facts aren't really your strong point,are they?

 

[RetiredGySgt]

LDS was formed in 1830---about 151 years ago--but facts aren't really your strong point,are they?

Actually closer to 200 years 1829 1830 or so.