Is Mormonism Christian? by Late Richard John Neuhaus

November 24, 2009

[Elsie]

 

My question was sincere and genuine, but you didn’t answer it.

 

Professor Robert Millet        teaching at the Mission Prep Club in 2004  http://newsnet.byu.edu/video/18773/  <-- Complete and uneditted

---

 

 

Timeline...    Subject...

 

0:59            "Anti-Mormons..."

1:16            "ATTACK the faith you have..."

2:02           "We really aren't obligated to answer everyone's questions..."

3:57           "You already know MORE about God and Christ and the plan of salvation than any who would ATTACK you."

[Buck W.]

Are you responding to my post, or using my post as a misdirection?

[Elsie]

 

2. No one gets to heaven without Joe Smith’s approval.

 In his article entitled "Joseph Smith Among the Prophets" printed in the June 1994 issue of "Ensign" magazine, Mormon writer Robert L. Millet quoted second LDS Prophet Brigham Young, who, in 1859, stated,

"From the day that the priesthood was taken from the earth to the winding up things of all things, every man and woman must have the certificate of Joseph Smith, junior, as a passport to their entrance into the mansion where God and Christ are -- I with you and you with me. I cannot go there without his consent"

 (Journal of Discourses 7:238).

[Buck W.]

Point?

[Elsie]

 

2. No one gets to heaven without Joe Smith’s approval.

 

 

Second President Brigham Young once remarked,

"I know that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God, that this is the Gospel of salvation, and if you do not believe it you will be damned, every one of you"

(Journal of Discourses 4:298, March 29, 1857).

 

 

On October 9, 1859, Young said,

"From the day that the Priesthood was taken from the earth to the winding-up scene of all things, every man and woman must have the certificate of Joseph Smith, junior, as a passport to their entrance into the mansion where God and Christ are -- I with you and you with me. I cannot go there without his consent"

(Journal of Discourses 7:289).

 

 

 

 

[Elsie]

You still haven’t give YOUR answer to the question. ?

Sometimes one must answer the question that SHOULD have been asked...

[Buck W.]

Here’s one: 14. Now begin your own voyage of self-discovery for the rest.

[Elsie]

 

All their stuff about the Laminites etc, have no basis in historical fact, Young was a charlatan and to this day, no one that is truly in a position to know, acknowledges “Reformed Egyptian” hieroglyphics to be real.

The "Caractors" are the only tangible evidence in existence related to Smith's story.

 

 No gold plates, no brass plates, no peep stones, no Urim and Thummim... only these "Caractors," not a single one of which is in the purported languages.

---

 

Smith's translation of the Caractors. According to Martin Harris (Joseph Smith - History, 1:64), "I went to the city of New York, and presented the characters which had been translated, with the translation thereof, to Professor Charles Anthon, a gentleman celebrated for his literary attainments. Professor Anthon stated that the translation was correct, more so than any he had before seen translated from the Egyptian. I then showed him those which were not yet translated,* and he said they were Egyptian, Chaldaic, Assyriac, and Arabic; and he said they were true characters."

Speak right up now in all truthfulness. Isn't it revealing how Smith started out making a stab at creating believable "caractors" but quckly gave up and produced nothing but squiggles, ending up wih a series of nothing more than crude little scribbles? Yet Professor Anthon supposedly translated them!

---

*Harris must have had two or three pieces of paper with him—one with characters and a translation of them (on the same paper or a separate one) and one with untranslated characters—quite likely the "Caractors." Some Mormon "scholars" have gone out on a limb, sawed it off, and knocked themselves out trying to translate from these true Egyptian, Chaldaic, Assyriac, and Arabic characters a segment that would correspond with a verse from 1 Nephi.

---

Modern-day experts in Egyptian, Chaldaic, Assyriac, and Arabic. In 1829, any knowledge of these languages possessed by U.S. scholars would have been rudimentary at best. Expertise in them has vastly improved since then. So go ahead, do it. Get any modern expert in these languages to identify which of these "Caractors" are Egyptian, Chaldaic, Assyriac and Arabic. Better still, accept the claim of Mormon apologists that Anthon did indeed so testify and that his appraisal of the Caractors was correct. (Op. cit, pp. 73-75)

Save your money! Samples of Assyriac/Aramaic and Arabic writing:

     .
 

     .
 

      .

 

What say you? Which of Smith's "Caractors" resemble the Assyriac and Arabic ones? No need to pay experts for their analysis. A child could accurately check this out. These writing systems have remained constant for well over 3000 years.

[Buck W.]

Cryptic does not always imply deep. Sometimes it is merely a disguise for the shallow.

[Elsie]

Some of the nicest, most responsible, and most temperate people I have ever met are Mormons.

You should have met Old Mountain Man: now HE was a HOOT!

[Elsie]

I can never understand how any really thinking and educated person can hold Mormon beliefs.

It's called DECEPTION!

(Have you ever heard anything about a White Salamander?)

[Elsie]

 

One does not convert through criticism; but through example and eloquence.

 

 

Dang!

 

I'll have to remember that!

---

 

Matthew 15:16
   "Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them.

Matthew 23

 

  1.  Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:
  2.  "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.
  3.  So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
  4.  They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
  5.  "Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries  wide and the tassels on their garments long;
  6.  they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues;
  7.  they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them `Rabbi.'
  8.  "But you are not to be called `Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers.
  9.  And do not call anyone on earth `father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.
 10.  Nor are you to be called `teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ.
 11.  The greatest among you will be your servant.
 12.  For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
 13.  "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. 
 14.  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. 
 15.   "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. 
 16.  "Woe to you, blind guides! You say, `If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.'
 17.  You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?
 18.  You also say, `If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.'
 19.  You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
 20.  Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.
 21.  And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it.
 22.  And he who swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it.
 23.  "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
 24.  You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
 25.  "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
 26.  Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
 27.  "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!  You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.
 28.  In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
 29.  "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.
 30.  And you say, `If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'
 31.  So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.
 32.  Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!
 33.  "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
 34.  Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.
 35.  And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
 36.  I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation.
 37.  "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.
 38.  Look, your house is left to you desolate.
 39.  For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, `Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.' "

 

Mark 7:26-27
 26.  The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.
 27.  "First let the children eat all they want," he told her, "for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."

 

---

And St. Paul chimes in...

---

Galatians 5:12
   As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

 

---

 

Matthew 15:16
   "Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them.

Matthew 23

 

  1.  Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:
  2.  "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.
  3.  So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
  4.  They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
  5.  "Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries  wide and the tassels on their garments long;
  6.  they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues;
  7.  they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them `Rabbi.'
  8.  "But you are not to be called `Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers.
  9.  And do not call anyone on earth `father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.
 10.  Nor are you to be called `teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ.
 11.  The greatest among you will be your servant.
 12.  For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
 13.  "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. 
 14.  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. 
 15.   "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. 
 16.  "Woe to you, blind guides! You say, `If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.'
 17.  You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?
 18.  You also say, `If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.'
 19.  You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
 20.  Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.
 21.  And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it.
 22.  And he who swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it.
 23.  "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
 24.  You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
 25.  "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
 26.  Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
 27.  "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!  You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.
 28.  In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
 29.  "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.
 30.  And you say, `If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'
 31.  So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.
 32.  Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!
 33.  "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
 34.  Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.
 35.  And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
 36.  I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation.
 37.  "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.
 38.  Look, your house is left to you desolate.
 39.  For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, `Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.' "

 

Mark 7:26-27
 26.  The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.
 27.  "First let the children eat all they want," he told her, "for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."

 

---

And St. Paul chimes in...

---

Galatians 5:12
   As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

 

[Elsie]

 

One does not convert through criticism; but through example and eloquence.

 

 

Dang!

 

I'll have to remember that!

---

 

 
 1 Corinthians 1:17-18
 17.  For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel--not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
 18.  For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

 

 

 1 Corinthians 2:4-5
 4.  My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power,
 5.  so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.

 

 

  1 Peter 3:1-2
 1.  Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives,
 2.  when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.

---

 

 
 1 Corinthians 1:17-18
 17.  For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel--not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
 18.  For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

 

 

 1 Corinthians 2:4-5
 4.  My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power,
 5.  so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.

 

 

  1 Peter 3:1-2
 1.  Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives,
 2.  when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.

[Elsie]

What is YOUR position? Is LDS a cult?

YES!

(Now then; try to get ME to waste MY time explaining why!)

[Elsie]

The Mormons have a system that serves themselves very well, although they have a low military enlistment rate, during the draft they also could give out their own deferments.

You were not supposed to notice...

--MormonDupe(I support our military!)

[Elsie]

Who is this Freud and why is he so interested in slips?

[Elsie]

Maybe...

[The Sons of Liberty]

Well, I'm not a Mormon, so I can't say precisely what they believe, but whether I call them Christians or not is not an issue as to whether I'm a Christian or not.

In an age when the muslim population wants all Jews and Christians brutally murdered, I am more concerned with countering their actions, than deciding if another group meets your qualifications.

[Elsie]

Now begin your own voyage of self-discovery for the rest.

[Buck W.]

I’m not looking for an explanation, just an answer. You gave it. The other guy wouldn’t. I hope he sees how easy it is to do so.

[Elsie]

In an age when the muslim population wants all Jews and Christians brutally murdered, I am more concerned with countering their actions, than deciding if another group meets your qualifications.

I guess about EVERYONE got this misdirection memo!

[Elsie]

The other guy wouldn’t.

Not wanting to mindread him; but perhaps he feels that people MUCH more qualified than himself had already given the answer, and, by quoting them, he was, in effect, agreeing with them.

[Buck W.]

Do you think that Catholics are Christians?

[Tennessee Nana]

Is Mormonism Christian?
______________________________________________

NO...

[Tennessee Nana]

“The jesus we believe in is not the traditional Jesus”
(Gordon Hinckley, Mormon leader)

[Tennessee Nana]

It was Joey Smith who rejected Christianity and said that the belief was so called “abomination” to the moprmon god...

For the first 150+ years the mormons did not want to be known as Christians...anything but...

Now they want to be known as the ONLY “christians” because it could ber politically expedient...

They still dont believe in the Jesus of the Bible though...

Instead they claim Joey Smith holds the keys to their idea of the after life And he decides who gets in...not their jesus...

And their songs in their religious exercises are praise songs to Joey Smith and not to the Jesus of the Bible...

They claim that their juesus was once a man who became a god and that the male mormons can bercome gods also...

and then there is that need to work their way into the mormon after life...

and the rejection of the savation that the Jesus of the Bible won for us when He shed His precious blood on the cross...

[Tennessee Nana]

One does not convert through criticism; but through example and eloquence.
______________________________________________

Like Jesus...

Matthew 23

1. Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:
2. “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.
3. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
4. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
5. “Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long;
6. they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues;
7. they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them `Rabbi.’
8. “But you are not to be called `Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers.
9. And do not call anyone on earth `father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.
10. Nor are you to be called `teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ.
11. The greatest among you will be your servant.
12. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
13. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.
14. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
15. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.
16. “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, `If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’
17. You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?
18. You also say, `If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’
19. You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
20. Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.
21. And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it.
22. And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.
23. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
24. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
25. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
26. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
27. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.
28. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
29. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.
30. And you say, `If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
31. So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.
32. Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!
33. “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
34. Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.
35. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
36. I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation.
37. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.
38. Look, your house is left to you desolate.
39. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, `Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ “

Matthew 23:1-39

[ejonesie22]

As Christians we are admonished to not judge the hearts of our brothers, fellow Christians.

However we are given by God the mental ability and discernment to judge false and incorrect teachings and those who distort the Gospel and are more than permitted to point such errors out and fight them. Indeed we are instructed and required to do so, something the modern “Oprahesque” Christians have become afraid to do.

If Christians did not stand up against false dogma and ideas, anyone could introduce any number of errors or perversions and call them “truth”. Perhaps bowing to Allah could have become a Christian ritual in such a world.

Fortunately the truth wins no matter how the enemy approaches.

[Melian]

I especially like, “ You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces.” No man should judge another. Christ alone is the judge. He judges with complete justice as well as love and mercy. Only He can sift our souls.

[ejonesie22]

There was no vote, God's universe is not a democracy.

Facts stand, my fellow Christians and I cannot vote Mormons Christian or not Christan any more than any 10 of us can vote a rock into tree, however we do know a rock and a tree when we see one, that is the way God made the world, and made man, to see facts as they are.

The clear fact is that Mormonism, like trying to vote a rock into a tree, cannot ‘PR” itself into Chritianinty, nor walk away from its very well recorded dogma that plainly an clearly is not Christian and in many cases not even factual.

[Tennessee Nana]

I especially like, “ You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces.”
________________________________________

The mormons like that too...

They think Joey Smith gets to decide who gets into the mormon aftewr life...

On October 9, 1859, Young said,
“From the day that the Priesthood was taken from the earth to the winding-up scene of all things, every man and woman must have the certificate of Joseph Smith, junior, as a passport to their entrance into the mansion where God and Christ are — I with you and you with me. I cannot go there without his consent”
(Journal of Discourses 7:289).

“He (Joseph Smith) is the man through whom God has spoken... yet I would not like to call him a savior, though in a certain capacity he was a god to us, and is to the nations of the earth, and will continue to be.”
- Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 8:321

“You call us fools; but the day will be, gentlemen and ladies, whether you belong to this Church or not, when you will prize brother Joseph Smith as the Prophet of the Living God, and look upon him as a god...”
- Herber C. Kimball, Journal of Discourses 5:88

“If we get our salvation, we shall have to pass by him [Joseph Smith]; if we enter our glory, it will be through the authority he has received. We cannot get around him [Joseph Smith]”
- (as quoted in 1988 Melchizedek Priesthood Study Guide, p. 142)

There is “no salvation without accepting Joseph Smith. If Joseph Smith was verily a prophet, and if he told the truth...no man can reject that testimony without incurring the most dreadful consequences, for he cannot enter the kingdom of God”
- Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 1, p.190

Second President Brigham Young once remarked,
“I know that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God, that this is the Gospel of salvation, and if you do not believe it you will be damned, every one of you”
(Journal of Discourses 4:298, March 29, 1857).

“I tell you, Joseph holds the keys, and none of us can get into the celestial kingdom without passing by him. We have not got rid of him, but he stands there as the sentinel, holding the keys of the kingdom of God; and there are many of them beside him. I tell you, if we get past those who have mingled with us, and know us best, and have a right to know us best, probably we can pass all other sentinels as far as it is necessary, or as far as we may desire. But I tell you, the pinch will be with those that have mingled with us, stood next to us, weighed our spirits, tried us, and proven us: there will be a pinch, in my view, to get past them. The others, perhaps, will say, If brother Joseph is satisfied with you, you may pass. If it is all right with him, it is all right with me. Then if Joseph shall say to a man, or if brother Brigham say to a man, I forgive you your sins, “Whosoever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them;” if you who have suffered and felt the weight of transgression—if you have generosity enough to forgive the sinner, I will forgive him: you cannot have more generosity than I have. I have given you power to forgive sins, and when the Lord gives a gift, he does not take it back again.”
- Orson Hyde, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, p.154-155

[Melian]

See my post 129. Only Christ is perfect. Only Christ can criticize and evangelize in that way.

The rest of us should be humble enough to recognize our own sinfulness and imperfection and endeavor to evangelize through eloquence and example.

We can point out the flaws we see in the beliefs of others without calling them names, damning them, or ridiculing them, can’t we? As a Catholic, I have the strength of my convictions and enough faith to talk with people of other faiths without resorting to name calling and ridicule.

When young Mormon missionaries come to my door, I thank them for their zeal and sacrifice and let them know I am a very happy Catholic. I have a few passages prepared to hand them, if they would like to take them. I look at theirs respectfully. Recognizing the dignity of every human being is the key to evangelism, in my opinion.

[Tennessee Nana]

See my post 129. Only Christ is perfect. Only Christ can criticize and evangelize in that way.
______________________________________________

yes, I’ve been reading your posts...

have you been implying that you are the Christ ???

[Tennessee Nana]

As a Catholic
___________________________________

Then you will enjoy this that the mormons say of the Catholics...

“I was answered that I must join none of them (Christian churches), for they were all wrong…their creeds were an abomination in [God’s] sight; that those professors were all corrupt” (Joseph Smith—History 1:19).

“The Roman Catholic, Greek, and Protestant church, is the great corrupt, ecclesiastical power, represented by great Babylon” (Orson Pratt, Writings of an Apostle, Orson Pratt, n. 6, 84).

[Under the heading, “Church of the Devil,” Apostle Bruce R. McConkie lists:] “The Roman Catholic Church specifically—singled out, set apart, described, and designated as being ‘most abominable above all other churches’ (I Ne. 13:5)” (Mormon Doctrine, 1958, 129).

[Tennessee Nana]

Recognizing the dignity of every human being is the key to evangelism, in my opinion.
________________________________________

Bible scripture for that please...

[Tennessee Nana]

Yes, there was a time, and not that long ago, when the mormons took pride in the fact they were not Christians...

[Nosterrex]

I share your concern about Islam. The qualifications for being a Christian are objective and not subjective. It is not that I decide who are Christians and those who are not. Those qualifications have been established nearly 2000 years ago. Which is more serious, being killed by a terrorist or losing your salvation? Anyone that believes what Mormonism believe about God is eternally lost.

[Buck W.]

And he always agrees with those “much more qualified” people? Wouldn’t that make him a follower as opposed to an independent thinker?

[Buck W.]

Are you suggesting that Mormons are the enemy?

[Buck W.]

I believe that yours is the proper perspective. However, as a Catholic, I’m sure you realize that there are many posters on FR who will deny your own Christianity. The vein of anti-Catholic bigotry is an unfortunate fact about this site.

[The Sons of Liberty]

Which is more serious, being killed by a terrorist or losing your salvation? Anyone that believes what Mormonism believe about God is eternally lost.

So, what you are saying is that if I don't care whether Mormons think they are Christians or not, I will not be saved? Funny, I don't remember seeing that in the Bible, but I'll ask my preacher.

[ejonesie22]

You are one to jump to over simplified conclusion aren't you...

I would dismiss it as a simple mistake, but oft such leaps are by design, especially by those with less than obvious yet very real agendas. I have seen you post before on "other subjects".

As it is in the world of politics and such the LDS is somewhat harmless to a great extent. Given their organization and PR machine they should have been much more successful then they have. Perhaps providence knows what it is doing. As it is they are oft on the right side of Conservative fights. Of course some Atheist Conservatives are as well.

The spiritual is where the issue lies, and is the subject at hand.

[ejonesie22]

Times have changed and the Mormons had to bow to a higher power.

Public Relations.

[Buck W.]

In a chat about Mormonism, you posted:

“Fortunately the truth wins no matter how the enemy approaches.”

How can I be oversimplifying? If you want to dodge and post out of both sides of your keyboard, be my guest, but the fault is yours, not mine.

[Nosterrex]

I do not know anything about you, but you have completely misunderstood what I wrote. I do not know how I could have been clearer. If you actually care what other people post to you, I would suggest that you reread what I have written.

[ejonesie22]

The evil one is the enemy.

This is a religious discussion, not a political one, despite the best efforts that have made for sometime.

[Tennessee Nana]

And the money god too...

[ejonesie22]

Devil’s in the details...

[Melian]

I know what the Mormon stance on Catholicism is. They are mistaken, but they still are worthy of dignity and compassion.

I can only show them where they are wrong about Catholics through patient, humble witness.

[Melian]

Uh, no. If you’ve been reading my posts, you will see that I am saying only Christ can offer the harsh criticism He gave the Pharisees. The rest of us are not perfect and cannot sit in judgment of others.

We are all pharisees in one way or another.