Posted on 03/10/2011 6:49:45 AM PST by T Minus Four
With one striking exception, the LDS Church's leaders and members are, and always have been, flawed people. (No better quality of human is available.) "We have this treasure in earthen vessels," the apostle Paul said, referring to the gospel and its mortal ministers, "that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us."
Although we obviously shouldn't be surprised at it, the church's human side is sometimes jarring and, if permitted, can cause disillusionment. It's urgently important, therefore, for our own sake, that we "clothe (our)selves with the bond of charity, as with a mantle, which is the bond of perfectness and peace" (Doctrine and Covenants 88:125). Failure to do so can be spiritually lethal.
"For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged," Jesus taught, "and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again" (Matthew 7:2). Christians worldwide regularly pray, rather dangerously, that the Lord "forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."
Why is this dangerous? "If ye forgive men their trespasses," the Savior explained, "your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:12, 14-15). And nobody is guiltless.
"Use every man after his desert," says Shakespeare's Hamlet, "and who should 'scape whipping?"
"My disciples, in days of old," the Lord says, "sought occasion against one another and forgave not one another in their hearts; and for this evil they were afflicted and sorely chastened" (Doctrine and Covenants 64:8).
In our dispensation, Thomas Marsh became so preoccupied with Joseph Smith's perceived imperfections that he forfeited his apostleship and was excommunicated in 1839. This wasn't because Joseph was perfect. "He has sinned," the Lord flatly declared. (Fortunately, my sins aren't announced in scripture.) But, adds the Lord, "he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin" (Doctrine and Covenants 64:7, 9).
Rebaptized in 1857, Marsh expressed regret for his nearly two decades outside the church. "I got a beam in my eye and thought I could discover a mote in Joseph's eye. … I was … completely darkened."
Contrast his attitude with that of the well-educated Lorenzo Snow, who boarded with the Smiths for a time:
"I can fellowship the President of the Church, (even) if he does not know everything I know. … I saw the … imperfections in (Joseph). … I thanked God that he would put upon a man who had those imperfections the power and authority he placed upon him … for I knew that I myself had weakness(es), and I thought there was a chance for me. … I thanked God that I saw those imperfections."
"I feel like shouting hallelujah, all the time," Joseph's close friend and disciple Brigham Young declared, "when I think that I ever knew Joseph Smith." Significantly, his dying words were "Joseph! Joseph! Joseph!"
Observing others' weaknesses, perhaps with sorrow, is very different from dwelling on them. Charity, the apostle Paul wrote, "rejoiceth not in iniquity." This surely applies to our fellow members, bishops, Relief Society presidents and stake presidents, and to the good but imperfect men who have been and are called to lead the church.
A year after leaving the American presidency, Theodore Roosevelt delivered a speech in Paris, titled "Citizenship in a Republic":
"It is not the critic who counts," he said, "not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat
Mormon attitude of superiority in the very first sentence...however, what it really does is prove that the mormon Jesus is not the Jesus of Christianity.
The Christian Jesus is not, will never be and never has been a "member" of the mormon church.
FAIL, DCP
What a pleasant face ... and what a demonic religion! Touting the assertions of Lorenzo Snow tells us what we need to know of this man’s perspective. Poor ol’ Lorenzo, well educated as he may have been, proclaimed what has become known as ‘the couplet’, which is a blasphemy as old as the Garden of Eden. Mormonism has lots of blasphemies woven into the dogma of that religion, but the assertion that The God of Creation was once a man and had to earn the attributes of godhood is possibly the most destructive to the human soul. Perhaps that’s why satan tried to hint such a blasphemy to a woman who had walked with God! Now, so many generations removed from such intimate fellowship, satan just has some poor dupe put the blasphemous lie in the form of the Lorenzo Snow couplet: ‘As man is, god once was; as god is man may become.’
Blasphemy is indeed an affront to Christians. Every single day of our lives it is so. If I need to set aside special days to be more affronted than usual, I am not doing it right.
It’s the oldest lie in the book, literally. And so very easy to believe. It answers all of the deepest lusts and longings in the damaged human soul - sex, money and power.
It's a very tangled web. Fascinating and repelling at once. But the people themselves are very decent, kind and compassionate. They are really terrific folks as a whole. And tragically deceived.
LOVE the Manhattan Transfer!
With one striking exception, the LDS Church’s leaders and members are, and always have been, flawed people.
Makes perfect sense. Since Jesus Christ leads the LDS Church he would be the leader and we all know he led a perfect life. At least I think we all know that. Perhaps someone disagrees, I don’t want to be accused of mind reading again.
Mormon Jesus is not the Jesus of Christianity? Sure he is. He is the Savior of the world. You know, the one in the Holy Bible and Book of Mormon. That’s him!
Is Jesus a “member” of the Mormon Church? If you consider the leader a member then sure. I’d say we are members of his Church though. Sounds more accurate.
Have a great day!
Well, since your religion casts doubt on the Bible, and I as a believer of the Bible renounce your BOM as false, we're sort of at a standoff now, aren't we.
Just sayin...
I know.
The implication is quite clear...
The "article" starts off with...
"With one striking exception, the LDS Church's leaders and members are, and always have been, flawed people..."
Who could that "exception" be? Who was not flawed? Why Jesus of course. The "exception" is part of "the LdS Church's leaders and members..." as penned by the author, so what is he implying? He's clearly implying that Jesus was/is a mormon.
Just what is the affront you're referring to? That the article was posted, or that mormons claim Jesus was/is mormon?
And since you consider Satan to be Jesus's brother, which part of the Mormon Church does he control?
Peep stones or the special temple underwear?
Lord; are we supposed to FORGIVE heresies as well?
False Teachings?
OH?
THIS is the title --> Observing weakness with charity
THIS is a comment ON the title --> [Jesus was a MORMON!]
There IS a difference.
Yeah!
Let's wait for one from INFORMED alarmists!
Ice tea doesn't either, or Coke® (Unless it's WARM, I guess.)
Had a bath in BOOZE lately; FR MORMONs??
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