Posted on 11/12/2010 3:30:08 PM PST by greyfoxx39
On all threads, but particularly “open” threads, posters must never “make it personal.” Reading minds and attributing motives are forms of “making it personal.” Making a thread “about” another Freeper is “making it personal.”
When in doubt, review your use of the pronoun “you” before hitting “enter.”
Like the Smoky Backroom, the conversation may be offensive to some.
Thin-skinned posters will be booted from “open” threads because in the town square, they are the disrupters.
http://www.freerepublic.com/~religionmoderator/
Thin-skinned (emotional, whiney or mercurial temper) posters are the disruptors on open threads.
Ping
Mercy cannot rob justice,2 and those who obtain mercy are “they who have kept the covenant and observed the commandment” (D&C 54:6).
The Apostle Paul destroyed this statement:
Tit 3:5* Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
I thought it read like something from the 1800s, but no, it's from just a year ago.
I think it's a good companion piece to
LDS don’t get theological respect because they seek and shun mainstream acceptance, prof says
Indeed. Wonder when tire tread marks are going to show up on the good 'ol apostle for these statements.
It’s Mormon! Of course it’s wackey.
The same Dallin Oaks who arranged to get a check of over $100,000 to Mark Hoffmann without paperwork, and then pulled a Sgt Schultz “I know nothing” routine when the police came asking questions after Hoffmann blew up two people?
That Dallin Oaks?
A Mormon is an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement. Most commonly, the term Mormon refers to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), which is commonly but imprecisely referred to as the Mormon Church. In addition, the term Mormon may refer to any of the relatively small sects of Mormon fundamentalism, and any branch of the Latter Day Saint movement that recognizes Brigham Young as the successor to founder Joseph Smith, Jr. The term Mormon applies to the religion of Mormonism, as well as its culture, texts, and art.
The term derives from the Book of Mormon, a sacred text published in 1830 regarded by the faith as a supplemental Testament to the Bible. Dictated by Joseph Smith, Jr., the text claims to be an ancient chronicle of a fallen and lost indigenous American nation, compiled by the prophet–warrior Mormon and his son Moroni, the last of his Nephite people. The term Mormon was initially a derogatory term applied to Latter Day Saints in the 1830s, but soon was embraced by the faith. Because the term became identified with polygamy in the mid-to-late-19th century, some Latter Day Saint denominations who never practiced polygamy have renounced the term.
(So much for "families are forever" when Joseph Smith--& no one else ever before him--carved up heaven into the telestial...a word Smith totally made up...the celestial...the terrestial and "spirit prison" -- which Mormons actually define as "spirit home.").
For a Mormon article highlighting how Mormonism teaches the righteous and the wicked will be together for who knows how long before all these "divisions" take place, go to:
The Spirit World, Our Next Home
Here's an 8-point summary of that article in case you don't want to read it:
1. The Mormon spirit world is "on this earth."
2. Lds "prophet" Ezra Taft Benson declared that “the spirit world is not far away. Sometimes the veil between this life and the life beyond becomes very thin." [Hence, it's how Mormon leaders justify encouraging plenty of interaction of Mormons with dead spirits]
3. The wicked go to "spirit prison," which is not eternal hell.
4. The author of this article references the apostle Peter highlighting this spirit “prison” (1 Pet. 3:18–20, 1 Pet. 4:6.)...yet surprisingly he bills it as a spirit "school" of sorts ("it is chiefly a place of learning and waiting, not a place of suffering.") [Oh. First Mormons eliminate the eternality of hell. Then they redefine actually as a "school," which I suppose for some students of our public schools, the same thing as "hell."]
5. This author, quoting Joseph Smith, says: "...the spirit world is the temporary home of the spirits of all mankind, whether they are good or evil. Thus Joseph Smith could declare that “the righteous and the wicked all go to the same world of spirits until the resurrection.” (Teachings, p. 310.) Yet some have wondered why Jesus promised the dying thief that after his death he would join the Savior in paradise. The Prophet Joseph taught: “King James’ translators make it out to say paradise. But what is paradise?"
6. So, instead of teaching that the righteous go to heaven, or really any "degree of salvation," Mormonism actually emphasizes a "dumbing down" where "all mankind" originally goes to the same place, no matter what! And guess what? God isn't there: it is not the place where God the Father, the resurrected Lord, and other resurrected beings dwell. Rather, it is an intermediate condition or state where people await the resurrection—a sphere where disembodied spirits live in one of several conditions according to what their mortal lives have merited."
7. So, so far, trusting in Jesus Christ and relating to Jesus Christ amounts to what your life merits. You're just a cosmic Boy Scout.
8. Thus, Mormons remain "missionaries" on the other side. It's no place of rest as the Bible describes heaven. Yup, for Mormons "...the spirit world is the place where disembodied spirits go. It is a tangible, substantial sphere incorporated with our earth, the focal point of a massive missionary effort in which we share." Thus, they get to continue to earn their way to heaven by trying to bump up others along the way!
The Haunting of the Salt Lake City Temple opening and of Lds General Authorities
Lds "prophet" Wilford Woodruff claimed: "I have had many interviews with Brother Joseph until the last 15 or 20 years of my life; I have not see him for that length of time." Journal of Discourses, 21:317-318, October 10, 1880, cf. JoD, 19:229
Similar claim by Lds "apostle" Heber C. Kimball (the one who manifested signs of demon possession as a Mormon missionary in 1837): "Joseph Smith continued visiting myself and others up to a certain time, and then it stopped." -- Lds "apostle" Heber C. Kimball, Deseret Weekly News, 53:112, Temples of the Most High, 1896, p. 345
Spring, 1893:
Yes, it stopped in the 1870s...only to reoccur in the 1890s: Mormons claim that when they opened their temple in the Spring of 1893, "Some Latter-day Saints saw...past Presidents of the Church and other deceased Church leaders." (Our Heritage: A Brief History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1996, p. 1020
Mormon "sacred" things not found in the Mormon "sacred" BoM:
1. Church organizational structure and titles of leaders [Hey, we don't need to provoke pagans into laughter by coming up with religious titles like the bishopric, do we?]
2. gods...plural [due to insistance by some FReeper Mormons that they only worship one godhead, a few FI have begun referencing that belief as polymonotheism]
3. Plurality of wives doctrine [Ah. Polymonogamy]
4. Word of Wisdom [I guess the people of South America weren't very wise about Brazilian coffee]
5. God is an exalted man [Who knew this facebook boy would make it big? Hmm...a god who worshiped his own god/gods once upon a time, eh?]
6. Celestial marriage [If you want to become an eternal polygamist, current Lds church policy says you can...just make sure you secure permission of anybody you've divorced & get "married" to your multiple SERIAL spouses one at a time in the temple for eternity]
7. Men may become Gods ["Hey, God, move over...you can go ahead & take my measurements for my throne"]
8. Three degrees of glory [Mormons tout resurrection for all; but John says there's a resurrection unto "damnation" (John 5:29) -- not too glorious
9. Baptism for the dead [monopoly on the religio-necro industry, that's for sure! I think we should call this a polymonopoly on necro-baptisms...when are they going to open up fast-food-like windows to meet the demand to grow with more genealogical records online?]
10. Eternal progression [at least til you hit the ceiling of your assigned glory...you terrestials aren't getting out!]
11. The Aaronic Priesthood [yeah, like the Bible -- apostle Paul -- says, these 12-year-old "elders" better keep to one wife!]
12. Temple works of washings, anointing, endowments, sealing; along with temple [I guess the people of the Book of Mormon times weren't very "sacred" compared to contemporary Mormons]
Ah, the very heart and heartbeat of Mormonism...
What's the reason the Mormon god blesses you?
His compassion? (No)
His Lovingkindness? (No)
His mercy? (No)
His grace? (No)
His longsuffering, patience & forgiving ways? (No)
Because He's your Father? (No)
Because He's your organizer? [Mormons don't believe your god created you from nothing...so why bother prostituting the word "creator" here?] (No)
Because an all-perfect Jesus died for you (if you're a contemporary) or an all-perfect Messiah would die for you (if you're someone like Abraham)? (No)
All these are "no-gos." Mormonism predicates ALL...
...blessings from God...
...His forgiveness...
...operation of His grace...
...upon you meriting/deserving/laboring/working/earning & becoming "worthy" of it.
IOW, the Mormon god is obligated to bless you because of some impersonal law the Mormon gods started back somewhere. He owes you...and the more "perfect" you are, the more he owes you big time. Like blessing you w/your own world...as a god...eternal sex...maybe multiple wives...worship and hymns written to you from all your kids...
And then, you too, can be like the Mormon god and decide to withhold priesthood blessings and temple weddings for whatever skin color you like for almost 150 years...who knows, maybe you'll curse the "white skin" this time!!!
If you peruse the Free Republic religion forums you will notice a pattern. There's an anti-Mormon group of people here that spends a great deal of their time attacking the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They post regurgitated propaganda on an almost daily basis.
They have a misguided obsession. You can witness many different tactics employed that you might find quite interesting. The straw man argument is a big favorite and is frequently preceded by cherry-picking quotes or other material. After the "quotation" the attacker will misrepresent what has been said or what was meant and then attack their own interpretation.Later they will have the audacity to claim they were "only" quoting our own material.
They will of course insist ad nauseum that they are merely using our sources and are therefore innocent of any deceptive practice. LDS persons have no issue whatsoever having our scriptures or leaders quoted as long as it is presented fairly and accurately. This is rarely (if ever) done.
Another favorite is posting scripture or statements which on their own really present no dilemma. They make something out of nothing while never bringing up a single objection that hasn't been addressed a hundred times before.
You might note a couple of other tactics used to try to antagonize is the use of disrespectful or insulting terms or language and/or pictures. That's a Christlike thing to do right? Yeah I don't think so either. It does speak volumes about them though.
Sometimes they cruise the headlines of the day seeking any story that might be twisted into making the Church look bad. Anything will do, just watch the progression of posts following it and see what I mean.
After reading their posts, I invite you to seek the truth about whatever "issue" they seem to be "revealing" or "exposing". I promise that if you do so with honest intent, the "ahah" moments you will have will be many and frequent. You will start to recognize the tactics employed to cleverly twist and attack and will likely chuckle the more you see. In actuality, there's nothing new here. It's all been addressed many times before.
The latest twist in the anti-Mormon propaganda machine is to actually go to the links provided, but then they cherry pick what they want, then quote and straw man attack that. Clever. It almost appears that they are helping you, the seeker of truth out by doing some footwork for you. Not so much. Don't be insulted, look for yourself. It's not the haystack they want you to think.
Here's a few links to get your started from a different viewpoint. I have found that the vast majority of the "issues" brought up can be found and addressed at http://www.fairlds.org/ but here's more:
http://scriptures.lds.org/
http://www.lds.org
http://www.fairlds.org/
http://www.mormonapologetics.org/
http://www.mormonwiki.com/Main_Page
http://www.lightplanet.com/response/index.html
http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDS_Intro.shtml
http://www.answeringantimormons.com/index.htm
http://promormon.blogspot.com/
Now you will likely notice the "you never address our points" posts pop up as usual. All after providing the answers just as you have here.
Sometimes it is claimed that these sites present a needle in a haystack. Far from it. But if you give up before you try you won't know will you?
Will you wear blinders too? Seek truth. Find out for yourself. Want to chat with someone on any topic? A few of these sites provide just that. So do your homework sincere seeker of truth. Listen and read from both "sides". Make up your own mind.
I witness to you of these truths and wish you the best, in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Thanks for posting the article by Elder Oaks. I found it both thought-provoking and inspirational.
YUP
Grew up around them.
Some are wonderful people.
there are no facts or evidence to back up the book of mormon; or the lost nation. I am also sure the native americans were not mormon.
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