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The Book of Mormon was given to Joseph Smith by the angel Moroni as golden plates with heiroglyphics (sp??) that he translated using a seeing stone (I think that is what they call it). The plates disappeared after that. I believe there is no link to any of the ancient scrolls found in the Middle East.Quote:
Originally Posted by ButterflyFaery;4092452;
I am so happy you posted this! I am a student of comparative religion, too. And I have to say that the Bible (the canon as established between the 2nd and 3rd century AD) was foreshortened because of the absolute bulk of the Bible that would have been created by a careful, academic concordance of all available scriptures.Quote:
Originally Posted by ButterflyFaery;4092452;
Remember that there was no printing press at this time, and that the canon that was declared as Sacred Scripture would have encompassed about 1 square acre of text in scrolls. There was also an economic incentive to close the canon: the emperor Constantine had ordered the production of over 300 Bibles, enough work to keep the monastic manuscript reproducers busy for over century.
Remember, too, that just because the Christian Church at the time essentially closed the canon of Sacred Scripture it in no way declared that the Holy Spirit had stopped inspiring the authors of sacred scripture. Closing the canon could not in any way be deemed to thwart the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, could it?
Given that essential truth, the Book of Mormon can be divinely inspired and should not be discounted out of hand, even though it was not inspired until relatively recently. However, given the benchmark of biblical concordance, the Book of Mormon misses the mark (in my opinion).
As far as Jesus being married, I would have to say that he could not have been taken seriously in His day unless He was. Textual and archeological/historical evidence lead me to believe that children in his day were raised to believe that all righteous people were married and, hopefully, blessed with children.
Well, I don't know how they couldn't because actually the name of our church...(which you have wrong here, you've left out our core/central teaching/belief) is The church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-Day Saints. Not just the church of latter day saints. I assure you we believe in Christ as the Savior of the World, and I think that makes us Christians...don't you?Quote:
Originally Posted by Poppy Fields;4092407;
We don't worship a female deity though we often talk of a Heavenly Mother in our church meetings and classes. I think it might be generally accepted in our church that we don't know the name of a Heavenly Mother because she is too sacred to have her name slandered as people very often take the name of Christ or God in vain. I do believe Jesus was married. As He was the perfect example in all things He did while on this earth and as was the tradition in His time it makes sense to me that He would have been. However sometimes things are taken out of scripture by men or lost in translation over the years. (Or as many people believe that they took out that Christ was married when they decided what would and wouldn't be in the Bible during the Council of Nicea.) I really don't know and I'm not a theologian, but it makes sense to me that He would have been married and I do believe that He has attained the highest form of Glory. I only know what I've been taught and what I feel in my heart.:winkgrinQuote:
Originally Posted by libgirl2;4092391;
Correct me if I'm wrong... I thought one of the biggest differences between Mormons and "Christians" is the doctrinal belief that Jesus is God. Christians believe in the trinity and that Jesus is God, whereas Mormons believe that Jesus and God are not one in the same. I am engaged to a wonderful man who was raised in the Mormon church and he mentioned this difference to me.Quote:
Originally Posted by RSTARMARGS;4092526;
As someone from the bible belt and a very very Christian society, I can absolutely tell you that Christians do not consider Mormons Christians. The only thing the two religions have in common is Jesus Christ. But, Muslims believe in Jesus Christ as well and Christians don't consider them another Christian group either. The three religions are very different to the core. The belief in what heaven, or the afterlife, is so varied between the three, along with the idea of who God is, is so completely different, that the religions are miles apart in belief systems.Quote:
Originally Posted by RSTARMARGS;4092526;
Please don't take the the wrong way... But I hate it when someone says, "I'm Christian (or I believe in Jesus Christ)" and someone else says, "That doesn't make you a Christian." That is absolute absurdity. Regardless of your own opinion, YOU don't have the final say on what someone believes. They do. Like it or not, it's not for you to decide what someone else believes. And really, if you are a Christian, as you say you are, then you know that YOUR judgment isn't the one that counts.Quote:
Originally Posted by maude~flanders;4092552;
Sorry, but this is the one type of comment that really gets me. No one, absolutely no one, believes in exactly the same way, and that means NONE of us have the right to judge each other's beliefs.
I think this is where a lot of confusion comes from. And I do have to preface my comment by saying this is what I was taught. And how much of what I was taught I believe.Quote:
Originally Posted by Realitychick;4092534;
Mormons do believe in the trinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. I was never taught that Jesus and God are one in the same. However, your fiance may have been taught that. From my perspective, many of the teachers have been misinformed or simply don't have answers.
I don't know if any of you watch Mad Men, but one of the best lines in the show is "if you don't like what is being said, change the conversation." And that is pretty much how I was schooled. Questions about the faith and the practices are not smiled upon. I don't know if this is secrecy or ignorance, but it's what I experienced. When I started asking direct questions, at about the age of 15 or 16, and my questions either went unanswered or the answers were "pulled out of someone's hat". Probably the answer I heard most was "we believe in the bible as long as it is translated correctly" when I was being told contradicted what is in the bible.
That was when I realized this might not be for me, and I walked away from the church. Like I've said, I'm still on the books as a Mormon, but I don't go to church. I don't think it comes down to a matter of faith, it's more a matter of "if you don't know the answer, stop pretending that you do."
Again, just my experience, and I realize others have had experiences and I respect that.
Oh and yes, I believe that Kody believes he may become a God someday, along with all of his wives and children. *sigh*
I live in the Bible Belt as well and I would have to agree with your assessment of the populations' general perception. Honestly, from what I have experienced, most people seem to think of the religion as more of a sacrilegious cult.Quote:
Originally Posted by maude~flanders;4092552;
To illustrate how extreme it is around here: I've seen Methodists who think Baptists are way outta line and vice-versa so...well, you get my point. In fact, anything outside the Protestant branch of Christianity is relegated to the 'fringe' of the accepted spectrum (that would encompass the Orthodox & Catholic Christians).
Actually, I'd be interested to know if Mormonism would even fall under the Protestant umbrella...I'm not sure if it is recognized. If it is part of 'Christianity' (i.e. a 'denomination') then it would fall under one of the three (maybe four, since some say anglican should be on its own) branches. I 'm throwing out the Protestant thought because most denominations are protestant.
Anyone wanta help on this one?
Funny that this has been brought up. I heard about this a few weeks ago....about a Presbyterian Boy Scout troop in NC that would not let the parents of two of the scouts remain as Scout Leaders because they were Mormons! This church/troop did not feel the Mormons were Christians!
N.C. Cub Scout troop won't let Mormons be Scout leaders | Standard-Examiner – Ogden, Layton, Brigham, Weber, Davis, Sports, Entertainment, Dining, Utah Jazz, Real Salt Lake, Ogden Raptors, Top of Utah News
I do remember many years ago a family that I knew moved down to either North Carolina or South Carolina due to the husband/father's job. They lasted down there a year, let the kids finish out a year in school, and moved back up to NY after that. The father told my parents that they had three things going against them down South. First, they were "Yanks". Next, they were Catholic. And lastly, they were Italian. I remember being very surprised when I found out about it.
Back on topic.....when will we find out if there will be a Season Two???