Posted on 09/27/2010 12:26:22 PM PDT by greyfoxx39
To repeat, by definition a Christian not only professes belief in the Savior, but a Christian lives and acts according to the teachings and commandments of Jesus Christ. He taught, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father.” 23 Jesus also said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” 24 He commanded us to pattern our lives after His. 25 True disciples of the Lord must be “doers of the word, and not hearers only.” 26
Our faith in the Lord moves us to the second principle of the gospel: repentance. 27 We develop a desire to purify and sanctify ourselves so that we might be worthy to return to God’s presence. We learn of the great plan of happiness that our Father has designed for His children, and we seek the blessings of peace and joy that are linked irrevocably to obedience to the laws of God. 28 Through the marvelous power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, a power activated by our obedience to His commandments, we can be washed clean of our sins. His infinite “mercy can satisfy the demands of justice” 29 for everyone who will repent. One of the great truths restored to the earth through modern revelation is that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is universal! The saving power of the gospel spans all generations of time and extends to all nations, kindreds, tongues, and peoples. Through humble repentance, we offer the sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit that the Lord requires of us before we can enter the waters of baptism. 30
Our faith in the Lord moves us to the third principle of the gospel, which is “baptism by immersion for the remission of sins” by one who has priesthood authority. 31 The Savior commanded that we all must be born again: “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” 32 Latter-day Saints accept baptism as an essential saving ordinance that is required of all people. Through baptism we covenant to take upon us the Lord’s name and honor it by keeping His commandments. He, in turn, promises us the guiding and enlightening presence of His Spirit. The fourth principle of the gospel is the “laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.” 33
As we take His name upon us, we most certainly are Christians, for we bear the name of Christ. Each week as we partake of the emblems of bread and water, we do it in remembrance of Him. We renew our covenant that we “are willing to take upon [us] the name of [the] Son [of God], and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given [us].” 34
Through faith in the Lord, repentance, baptism, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, we are born anew. We experience “a mighty change … in our hearts” 35 and become “quickened in the inner man.” 36 If we are faithful and obedient, this mighty change will cause that “we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.” 37
By obeying God’s commands, we deny ourselves of all ungodliness. Through obedience motivated by a wholehearted love of God, we come fully unto Christ and allow His grace, through the Atonement, to lead us into perfection. 38
Latter-day Saints covenant to keep the Lord’s commandments. Though we may fall short, our hearts are committed to striving earnestly to be obedient. We follow the teachings of the Savior. We try always to go the extra mile, to fast, to pray for our enemies, to care for the poor, and to do our acts of charity in private. We try to follow the example He gave in the parable of the good Samaritan. We avoid profanity. We avoid finding fault, we keep the Sabbath day holy and strive to be reconciled to our brother. With patience and forgiveness, we try to turn the other cheek, knowing that we will be judged as we judge others. We are aware of the dangers of materialism and debt. We seek to put the kingdom of God and His righteousness first in our lives because we know that our hearts will follow what we treasure. We know that the gate is strait and the way is narrow, so we labor to develop self-discipline to follow in His footsteps.
We love our neighbors. We strive to treat others with courtesy and respect, to treat them as we would want to be treated, both in public settings and in our homes. We strive to show concern for others and courtesy in all that we do—even as we drive in a traffic jam. We know that “out of small things proceedeth that which is great.” 39 Because we find joy in what we know and in how we live, we like to share the gospel with others.
Can anyone doubt that Latter-day Saints profess a profound belief in Jesus Christ or doubt that we follow a religion based on the life and teachings of the Savior? He is, without question, “the author and finisher of our faith.” 40 President Hinckley gave this powerful testimony of our Redeemer: “Towering above all mankind stands Jesus the Christ, the King of glory, the unblemished Messiah, the Lord Emmanuel. … He is our King, our Lord, our Master, the living Christ, who stands on the right hand of His Father. He lives! He lives, resplendent and wonderful, the living Son of the living God.” 41
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Ping
who is 1/3 of the God Head. That does not describe a Mormon.
In other words, well in any words the lds jesus is not sufficient in and of himself. Guess, that's where that "after all we do" statement comes from.
An awesome talk! Thanks so much for posting it.
I am going to have to read it in it’s entirety again later.
Thanks again!
After 150 years of mormon leaders and members denigrating Christians, the mormon leaders have decided to co-opt the very name of "Christian". Joseph Smith founded his sect on his debasement of ALL Christian creeds but now that is to be swept away and the Christian Community is expected to accept the sect as being equal, even while Mormonism not only demands a "seat at the Christian banquet table", it demands to set the menu, control the guest list, collect the funds from the ticket sales, and choose its own non-Biblical unedited and false message from its chosen speaker, all the while whining about being persecuted.
Mormon leaders are allying the church with the Islamic community
One has to wonder how friendly the "muslim-mormon" connection would be if the mormon church decided to co-opt the name of Islam.
27So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it."
30Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked.
31"How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture:
"He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before the shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
33In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth."
34The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" 35Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
36As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?"
37a "Well; let see now", said Phillip. "Have you:
1. humbly repented?
2. Got a broken heart?
3. And, lastely, do you have a contrite spirit?
37b The Ethiopian eunuch replied,"DANG!! I didn't see all of THAT in what we were reading!"
37c "Trust me", said Phillip, "It will be revealed later. Better to get on board now."
38And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.
Anyone who doesn’t believe in the Trinity is actually closer to Islam then Christianity.
And lds are.
“Those who receive forgiveness and then repeat the sin are held accountable for their former sins.” —Gospel Principles, 1995ed., p. 253
“There is one crucial test of repentance. This is abandonment of the sin….The saving power does not extend to him who merely wants to change his life. …Nor is repentance complete when one merely tries to abandon sin. ...To ‘try’ is weak. To ‘do the best I can’ is not strong. We must always do better than we can. ...Discontinuance of the sin must be permanent.... the former transgressor must have reached a ‘point of no return’ to sin wherein there is not merely a renunciation but also a deep abhorrence of the sin — where the sin becomes most distasteful to him and where the desire or urge to sin is cleared out of his life” —The Miracle of Forgiveness, 1969, Spencer W. Kimball, pp. 163-165, 176, 354-355
“Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can receive forgiveness for our sins through sincere and complete repentance. … Abandonment of Sin. Although confession is an essential element of repentance, it is not enough. The Lord has said, ‘By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins—behold, he will confess them and forsake them’ (D&C 58:43). Maintain an unyielding, permanent resolve that you will never repeat the transgression. When you keep this commitment, you will never experience the pain of that sin again.” —True to the Faith – A Gospel Reference, 2004, pp. 70, 134-135
Joseph Smith said: “Repentance is a thing that cannot be trifled with every day. Daily transgression and daily repentance is not that which is pleasing in the sight of God.” —Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 148
Trying is not good enough in mormonism, its doctrines demand 100% 100% of the time. Those who think they are worthy because of a card they carry are just fooling themselves, because they have not and never can completely live to the oaths and committments they have made.
From your link to the Muslim/Mormon connection:
“Perhaps more importantly, Muslims and Mormons have co-operated in massive disaster relief and other charitable efforts in the wake of the Southeast Asian tsunami and earthquakes. Such efforts are just a part of the Mormon global charitable outreach.”
Reaching pretty far aren’t you, greyfoxx39?
If I recall correctly, nearly EVERY religion sent aid to the innocent victims in this crisis. This constitutes a Mormon-Muslim connection?
This is a fundamental dichotomy between Christian belief and that of the lds
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. John 14:6
“no man or woman in this dispensation will ever enter into the celestial kingdom of God without the consent of Joseph Smith” “prophet” b.young journal of discourses, vol. 7, p.289-91
lds court muslims. There have been dozens of articles in lds owned newspapers stating their connection. Even Joseph Smith stated he was the next mohammad.
Indeed, when one rejects the free grace of Christ, the only other path is that of to-do list created by man, who is the only one suited to judge, pushing Jesus from the picture.
The LDS do not get the difference between Justification (Salvation) and sanctification. They seem to think that sanctification is required to return to God. We can only begin to be sanctified AFTER we have been justified (saved).
IOW, good works do NOTHING to get us back into the presence of God the Father, only faith in Christ alone to save us will do that.
As with so many things they put the cart before the horse.
It's always wise to read the article before criticizing and attributing motives.
The article ends with this disclaimer: Note: The author of this article is not an official representative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but is a life-long, practicing member of the church.
Perhaps you should read these articles and then make a judgment.
Latter-day Saints recognize Muslims as brothers and sisters, children of our Heavenly Father, with whom we can find much common ground. LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley stated: "we value our Muslim neighbors across the world." Latter-day Saints respect the strong values of Muslims as well as Islamic contributions to science, literature, history, philosophy, medicine, and the arts. Although there are many differences between Muslims and Latter-day Saints in doctrine and practice, we acknowledge these differences with respect rather than criticism.
A Latter-day Saint Perspective on Mohammad
As early as 1855, at a time when Christian literature generally ridiculed Muhammad as the Antichrist and the archenemy of Western civilization, Elders George A. Smith (1817–75) and Parley P. Pratt (1807–57) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles delivered lengthy sermons demonstrating an accurate and balanced understanding of Islamic history and speaking highly of Muhammad’s leadership. Elder Smith observed that Muhammad was “descended from Abraham and was no doubt raised up by God on purpose” to preach against idolatry. He sympathized with the plight of Muslims, who, like Latter-day Saints, found it difficult “to get an honest history” written about them. Speaking next, Elder Pratt went on to express his admiration for Muhammad’s teachings, asserting that “upon the whole, … [Muslims] have better morals and better institutions than many Christian nations.” 9
Latter-day Saint appreciation of Muhammad’s role in history can also be found in the 1978 First Presidency statement regarding God’s love for all mankind. This declaration specifically mentions Muhammad as one of “the great religious leaders of the world” who received “a portion of God’s light” and affirms that “moral truths were given to [these leaders] by God to enlighten whole nations and to bring a higher level of understanding to individuals.” 10
One qualifier...the lead sentence is misleading. "Church of Christ Latter Day Saints" Is that meant to read that way?
Does it matter? /s
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