Posted on 10/06/2008 10:58:58 AM PDT by Zakeet
Mormons should never respond with arrogance or hostility to attacks on their faith, but be peacemakers among themselves and in the community of faith, said several speakers at the 178th Semiannual LDS General Conference on Sunday.
"More regrettable than the [LDS] Church being accused of not being Christian is when church members react to such accusations in an un-Christlike way," Apostle Robert D. Hales said on the second day of the two-day conference. "Surely our Heavenly Father is saddened - and the devil laughs - when we contentiously debate doctrinal differences with our Christian neighbors."
Sometimes, the best response is to say nothing at all, Hales said. "Meekness is not weakness. It is a badge of Christian courage."
Hales was speaking to more than 20,000 gathered in the LDS Conference Center in downtown Salt Lake City and millions more watching on TV, the Internet or via satellite to LDS meeting houses across the globe.
One Sunday speaker, Apostle Russell M. Nelson, made a veiled reference to the church's opposition to same-sex marriage.
"The subject of marriage is debated across the world, where various arrangements exist for conjugal living," Nelson said, adding emphatically, "Marriage between a man and a woman is sacred - it is ordained of God. . . . [And] a temple marriage is the highest and most enduring type of marriage that our Creator can offer to his children."
Comparing wedding choices to shopping, Nelson said, "Some marital options are cheap; some are costly; and some are cunningly crafted by the adversary. Beware of his options. They always breed misery."
Not all Mormons in California agree with the church's support of the state's traditional marriage initiative, which may have prompted Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the church's governing First Presidency, to discuss the need for unity among members.
As the church attracts members from diverse backgrounds and experiences, true peacemakers recognize they have more in common than they have differences, Eyring said. "God will help you see their differences not as a source of irritation but as a contribution. In a moment, the Lord can help you see and value what the other person contributes which you lack."
For his part, Pres. Thomas S. Monson, who became the 16th leader of the 13-million member Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in February, spoke personally and emotionally about accepting change.
"Some changes are welcome, some are not," Monson said during his morning address. "There are changes in our lives which are sudden, such as the unexpected passing of a loved one, an unforeseen illness, the loss of a possession we treasure."
The 81-year-old leader reflected on his years as an LDS apostle, watching the 14 men ahead of him in the church's hierarchy pass away until the death of longtime LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley, which elevated Monson to the position.
"Of course, there's no going back, only forward," Monson said. "Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for the future."
Several other LDS authorities discussed the best way to handle critics and disagreements.
Apostle M. Russell Ballard said in the last few decades the LDS Church had experienced "unprecedented ideological attacks on our people, our history, and our doctrine through the media."
In a possible allusion to the critics of Mormonism that emerged during Mitt Romney's failed bid for the Republican presidential nomination, Ballard noted that in the 1920s, LDS apostle Reed Smoot was elected to the U.S. Senate but had to fight to be seated.
"A great deal was said of the church and its teachings at that time - much of it hurtful and directed toward [LDS] President Joseph F. Smith and other church leaders," Ballard said. "However, some newspaper articles began to speak of the members of the church as contributing citizens and good people."
From the church founding in 1830 to today, Ballard said, "persecutions have raged. Calumny, lies, and misrepresentation have attempted to defame. But in every decade . . . the truth of God has gone forth boldly."
Monson closed the conference in the afternoon with an appeal for tolerance and kindness.
"We are a global church," he said. "May we be good citizens of the nations in which we live and good neighbors in our communities, reaching out to those of other faiths as well as to our own. May we be men and women of honesty and integrity in everything we do."
He thanked members for their generous contributions, which help the church continue its humanitarian work. He urged them to offer every kind of assistance to those in need.
"May we ever be mindful of the needs of those around us," Monson said, "and be ready to extend a helping hand and a loving heart."
The conference was adjourned until April, 2009.
The last time I checked, pronouncements made by the President of the LDS Church did indeed represent its views.
I strongly encourage to check the references and see if I am misquoting the Prophets. If I am, I will gladly issue the appropriate retractions and apologies.
Mormons consider themselves Christian.
As per the above listed quotations, your early church leaders, including both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, clearly disagree.
Hard to blame the leaders for distancing themselves from the people trying to kill them. As far as my snippets comment, I don’t beleive you can take two isolated quotes, and apply it to the church as a whole, especially when the modern day prophets of the Mormon Church have said that the Mormon faith is indeed Christian. I do not argue that you misquote them, simply that contexually the quotes are misconstrued. Anyway, I don’t want to keep discussing the subject. Whether or not you, or anyone else considers Mormons to be Christian is of little consequence to Mormons. They believe in Christ, and he is centeral to their lives.
Actually, there were 17 quotes in my reply and 41 quotes on the source I provided.
And I didn't apply them to the church as a whole. Joseph Smith and Brigham Young did!
Modern day prophets of the Mormon Church have said that the Mormon faith is indeed Christian.
Indeed they have. And this is merely one of dozens of key LDS doctrinal changes. Which raises an interesting question: Which LDS Prophet do you believe and when?
[Mormons are Christian because] they believe in Christ, and he is central to their lives.
You can call yourself a tree, but that doesn't make you a tree.
My opinion on the subject doesn't matter, and neither does yours. Only Christ decides who are sheep and goats at the final judgment.
Because this is such a critical issue, and because you are obviously an intelligent person who believes in an afterlife and wants to enjoy the pleasure of heaven and avoid the torment of hell, I strongly recommend you check out Were Christians Just Like You for a seriously abbreviated list of some of the fundamental differences between Mormonism and Biblical Christianity.
And I recommend you do this immediately, before it is too late.
“Comparing wedding choices to shopping, Nelson said, “Some marital options are cheap; some are costly; and some are cunningly crafted by the adversary. Beware of his options. They always breed misery.”
There is only one state of marriage. Anything else is not an option—it’s either a fake or a delusion.
Yup!
The Mormon web is being swept away by the Internet: Thanks Al!
...and a woman, and a woman, and a woman, and a woman, and a woman...
Amen; Brother!
--MormonDude(I serve a changable GOD)
Oh, we can POST; we just can't reply...)
--MormonDude(I think that was what the memo said)
It is NOT 'bashing' or 'demeaning' to point out things that are NOT Biblically correct.
MORMONism is rife with examples.
HMmmm...
Must be something ELSE that has changed thru the years!
What is a Christian?
"What is it that inspires professors of Christianity generally with a hope of salvation? It is that smooth, sophisticated influence of the devil, by which he deceives the whole world"
- Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr., Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 270
"...all the priests who adhere to the sectarian religions of the day with all their followers, without one exception, receive their portion with the devil and his angels."
- Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr. , The Elders Journal, v. 1, no. 4, p. 60
"Brother Taylor has just said that the religions of the day were hatched in hell. The eggs were laid in hell, hatched on its borders, and then kicked on to the earth."
- Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 6, p. 176
"With a regard to true theology, a more ignorant people never lived than the present so-called Christian world."
- Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 8, p. 199
"Both Catholics and Protestants are nothing less than the ‘whore of Babylon' whom the Lord denounces by the mouth of John the Revelator as having corrupted all the earth by their fornications and wickedness. Any person who shall be so corrupt as to receive a holy ordinance of the Gospel from the ministers of any of these apostate churches will be sent down to hell with them, unless they repent."
- Apostle Orson Pratt, The Seer, p. 255
So; you POSITIVELY will NOT open your mind to the FACT of the things said by your past leaders.
OK then.
Allah be praised!!
But you’re assuming someone has reasonable proof that the Bible in infallable. I’ve never seen it. It’s all based on a big dose of faith in whatever way one chooses to swing.
Ping to read later
Oh, we can POST; we just can’t reply...)
***So that makes the mormons a whole new set of trolls. Post & run freepers, that’s all we need /s
I almost had soda coming out of my nose from laughing so hard at your post!
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