The Doctrine of Temple Work (Mormonism - Open)

Ensign ^ | October 2003 | Elder David E. Sorensen

[Colofornian]

Snip

...Joseph Smith warned of the consequences when we fail to use the temples available to us: “Those Saints who neglect [temple work] in behalf of their deceased relatives, do it at the peril of their own salvation.”

Snip

A key function of temples is to perform ordinance work for our deceased ancestors. When we think of temple ordinances and the necessity to do them perfectly, without error...

“… For their salvation is necessary and essential to our salvation...they without us cannot be made perfect—neither can we without our dead be made perfect” (D&C 128:5, 15;...).

Consider the...vision of President Joseph F. Smith...:

“Thus was the gospel preached to those who had died in their sins...having rejected the prophets.

Snip

The Lord revealed through... Joseph: “All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations, that are not made and entered into and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, of him who is anointed, both as well for time and for all eternity, … through the medium of mine anointed, whom I have appointed on the earth to hold this power … are of no efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the resurrection from the dead; for all contracts that are not made unto this end have an end when men are dead” (D&C 132:7).

Snip

...One of the great privileges we have is the wearing of the garment...

...The garment, … when properly worn, will serve as a protection against temptation and evil.

“It is expected that members will wear the garment both night and day...Members should not adjust the garment or wear it contrary to instructions in order to accommodate different styles of clothing...The garment should not be removed for activities which might reasonably be done with the garment worn beneath the clothing...

[Paragon Defender]

I’m sorry that it annoys you so, but I am not going to play your little game.

[Osage Orange]

It's not a little game PD...

If you really wanted "dear reader's" to learn the truth...you would answer this question.

And again I will ask you.....Do you think J. Smith and / or B. Young were/are perfect? Yes or no.

Why won't you answer? It's a simple question.....

You seem to have this need to let the lurker's...the "dear reader's" as you call them..know the "truth"...

I say let's give it to them....

Answer the question.

[Elsie]

I believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost - one in purpose possessing different roles and functions which compliment each other.

Only the H.G. ain't GOD enough to get His own physical body.

[Elsie]

I believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost - one in purpose possessing different roles and functions which compliment each other.

Yup; three GODs that MORMONs worship.

You folks are polytheists.

[Elsie]

The anti Mormons are always pounding away about the Trinity and how Mormons are going to hell because we believe in the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.

Not me!

I pound away at the FACT that JS was deceived by TWO lying spirits - that no MORMON knows what JS supposedly 'learned' was UNTRUE about PRESBYTERIANism - and the FACT that MORMON's most secret OOPS! SACRED rituals are found NOWHERE in their SCRIPTUREs!

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Would you like to address any of THESE topics?

[Osage Orange]

Heck I've ruined two mountain bikes....and pretty much puked the last time I ruined one.

So I can love the name....

I'm actually looking for another bike...now.

Don't ask how the other bikes were buried..................

[Elsie]

 

... so therefore, the Jews are automatically saved since they believe in the God of the Old Testament and have invited Him into their hearts.

 

 

Babe; you're STILL missing it.

 

Is it on PURPOSE??

 

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John 6:28-29 

Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"

Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."

[Elsie]

...so therefore, the Jews are automatically saved since they believe in the God of the Old Testament and have invited Him into their hearts.

OH?

It don't look as though they INVITED anyone in!

Matthew 15:24

He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

[narses]

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[MHGinTN]

I see PD is calling the battle over eternal destiny a 'game'.

Think about it, Mormonism leaves someone's eternal destiny to the still wet behind the ears, under educated missionaries and laughs at adults seeking to awaken them to the Truth of the scriptures. Your eternal destiny means so little to PD that he merely posts the party approved websites and has no witness on his own. And what did Jesus tell all Christians to do ... what was the great commission, send your immature teens to evangelize the world? Hardly.

One reason I post so many scriptures is that too many Mormons have so little familiarity with the Truth of what The Word of God declares. Mormons are the produce/vegetables of the lds workshops. Theirs is not a meat filled life. They work so hard to appear good and righteous, yet they are no different than devout Hindus or devout Buddhist. In fact, they are probably not as kind as devout Buddhists because I have never met a Buddhist that was dripping with an air of condescension like I experience with Mormons.

My best friend form college called me one day when I was in my mid twenties and wanted to come visit ... I lived with my new family in B'ham, AL and he and his wife lived in E. Tennessee. I asked why the sudden trip down our way. He said he had something wonderful to share with me. Yeah, he had been born again and wanted to share that with his close friend! I too was born again because of the witness I heard and saw in him, in his enthusiasm. Sadly, after a few years of being beaten down by meds school and the tribulations of life, he became a Mormon, and went into a shell that has eaten him alive. Not once in all the years since has he ever mentioned it to me, yet we still lunch together and visit the gun range together occasionally. The only brief discussion is when I bring up the contradictions with Christianity found in the 'meat' stuff of Mormonism. You see, there is some reason why he is not enthused with the church he now belongs to. And frankly, he has so many psychological problems now, I doubt he would be able to make a coherent appeal to his 'religion'. Mormonism has effectively squelched his light as he lives a duplicitous life trying to hide his flaws, believing he must somehow earn that which he already has, so the Holy Spirit is not guiding him to transformational living, and it shows.

I would bet there are too many in Mormonism just like my friend, born again then trapped into the cult of Joseph Smith, snared in the judiazer trap Paul warned against, not realizing why it is that the still small voice has stopped whispering. Perhaps they take that to mean they've become so much better, but they know that's not true and it eats away at the peace they could have. 'After all that you can do' is so similar to the lie satan told Eve.

The invitation to be like Cain and demand acceptance on his own terms rather than God's Grace in Christ to transform the man is demonic, absolutely demonic. The depth of blindness we witness in the apologists at FR is strong indication of just how powerful is the demonic inveigling in Mormonism.

[Elsie]

The book is sprinkled with advice from Screwtape to his nephew, Wormwood, telling him what he must do to gain the soul of a Christian for the underworld.

This mostly involves "muddying the waters". That is: not allowing the "patient" to clearly see the truth.

Thus we are shown how evil is overcome by simple, clear actions and thought.

[Elsie]

I’m sorry that it annoys you so, but I am not going to play your little game.

So sit there and play with yourself then.

[Logophile]

As I think you misspoke.......

When?

[Paragon Defender]

Seekers of truth,

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. 

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.

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.

 

[Paragon Defender]

I see PD is calling the battle over eternal destiny a ‘game’.

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Add another entry onto the straw man list. lol

[Zuriel]

**The Trinity is a man-made concept**

If you mean the “each is a separate person, each omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, but all three are in unity, making one God”; or something like that? (if one has all three of those attributes, why does he need the other two for help?)

The carnal, earthly understanding of mankind, thinks of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, as something of a ‘chip off the ol block’, imagining a couple of immortal men, one older than the other, hanging out in heaven.

Jesus Christ, body and soul, is God, ONLY because of the Father (Spirit, John 4:23,24) in him.

Mary “was found with child of the Holy Ghost”. Matt. 1:18
The Father didn’t do it himself? I mean, he’s omnipresent, so he was there. He’s omniscient, so he knew how to perform the miracle. He’s omnipotent, so he had power to make it happen. And the Christ continually referred to the Father as his ‘father’. The answer is simple; the Holy Ghost is a portion of the Almighty God, that is given to aid lowly man (no man can hold the infinite God; that should be obvious).

Diety cannot die; the Christ died. “Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father..”. Rom. 6:4

By man-made trinity logic, one can have all three persons in them:

If the Father is omnipresent, and can be in you. Eph. 4:6
The Son is omnipresent, and can be in you. “..Christ in you the hope of glory”. Col. 1:27
The Holy Ghost is omnipresent, and can be in you. “..the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that OBEY him”. Acts 5:32

It is so simple; the Father is Spirit, and the Son is fleshly man with a soul. He chose to create him, dwell in him, and by him, reconcile the world unto himself, giving of his Spirit to lowly man.

**the egg having a shell, the white and a yolk.**

Stupid example. I wonder who dreamed up that concept. There’s at least three important items in the yolk alone, and the yolk is the only part that ends up being a living, breathing, critter.

[Saundra Duffy]

**the egg having a shell, the white and a yolk.**

That’s how a preacher explained the Trinity. I just sat there with my mouth hanging open. It seemed insulting to me but we were taught not to criticize the preacher. “Touch not God’s anointed.” I’m glad I am now free from all that.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you so much for sharing your insights, dear brother in Christ!

My three favorite Trinity revealing verses:

But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. - Romans 8:9

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. – Isaiah 9:6

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: - Matthew 28:19

God's Name is I AM.

[caww]

No one has to use strawman tactics or present the Mormon church in an unfavorable light...Mormons teachings and literature does plenty to reveal the falsehoods. And frankly one doesn't even need to “study” about Mormonism for those falsehoods are easily seen to the discerning.

[caww]

From your link and Joseph Smiths mouth.....which accounts for mormons belief they have been "abused" from the get go til today. Their victimhood is passed on thru the centuries...passed down from the man Smith himself. Which is why Mormonism is in "defensive" mode 24/7...rather than being open to Christ's correction on their teachings and their falsehoods. Joseph Smith would not listen to correction and neither do his followers once they are indoctrinated...it is relatively easy to identify those who have gone the gammet.....the brick wall is obvious. They all copy Smith rather than yield to Christ.

Here's Smiths quote......" Owing to the many reports which have been put in circulation.... by evil-disposed and designing persons,..... in relation to the rise and progress of the Church of Jesus Christ of aLatter-day Saints,... all of which have been designed by the authors thereof to militate against its character as a Church and its progress in the world.......I have been induced to write this history, to disabuse the public mind, and put all inquirers after truth in possession of the bfacts, as they have transpired, in relation both to myself and the Church,.....