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No, I wrote that I believe mainstream Christian religions do the following:
Misinterpret the Bible as exampled by the fact that the various religions argue about meaning and practice.
Operate without proper authority from Christ, with the possible exception of the Catholic Church, which claims authority passed from Peter.
All current mainstream churches believe Christ’s Church has continued since he established it and ignore the great apostasy and falling away that Christ foretold.
Rely on a paid ministry.
I never wrote Christians are disingenuous. In fact, I believe mainstream Christians believe they are correct and operate with a clear conscience. I just believe they are wrong.
Yes, but this does not explain why I did not suffer from cognitive dissonance when I departed the Methodist Church. I had never heard of the LDS Church or Mormonism—other than perhaps a reference to the Mormon Trail in a high school history class—so there was no sudden discovery of “another truth.” In fact, it was two years later that I was approached by Missionaries in an airport and five years after the first contact that I joined the Church.
In short, when I left the Methodist Church that was it. No regrets. No emotional issues. I knew I was correct and that settled it, and such should be the case for anyone leaving the LDS faith. They should know they are doing the right thing and break it off, but it’s my experience they don’t. They are bitter, distort facts, and constantly complain about how the Church “intimidated” them, “lied,” or “concealed” dark secrets. I, on the other hand, have nothing bad to say about the Methodist Church. My mother was a Methodist until her death. Her friends remained my friends. I just think they have it wrong, but I don’t go to a website and call them Methbots, liars, and cheats.
You are so lucky to have felt this way, Sarge.
Some people cannot be so magnanimous. When a person feels he is bucking the thoughts of the world for a belief and puts his whole heart and soul into it and even places his instincts and credulity aside for a belief system, and then finds out it is all a big lie, I would think it a natural reaction to feel resentment, that one has wasted much time and effort in this cr@p, and has even tried to teach the lies to others, and maybe swayed their opinons, so the lies of the belief system make a liar out of the believer, too. It is like having a lover who has decieved you all the time you were with him/her. I doubt if it is NORMAL, whatever that is, NOT to feel a bit broken for a time. Of course, a lot depends on how full-heartedly one buys into the game in the first place.
WHAT MORMON (sorry, LDS) MISSIONARIES WILL NOT TELL YOU
. God was once a man like us.
. God has a tangible body of flesh and bone.
. God lives on a planet near the star Kolob.
. God ("Heavenly Father") has at least one wife, our "Mother in Heaven," but she is so holy that we are not to discuss her nor pray to her.
. We can become like God and rule over our own universe.
. There are many gods, ruling over their own worlds.
. Jesus and Satan ("Lucifer") are brothers, and they are our brothers - we are all spirit children of Heavenly Father
. Jesus Christ was conceived by God the Father by having sex with Mary, who was temporarily his wife.
. We should not pray to Jesus, nor try to feel a personal relationship with him.
. The "Lord" ("Jehovah") in the Old Testament is the being named Jesus in the New Testament, but different from "God the Father" ("Elohim").
. In the highest degree of the celestial kingdom some men will have more than one wife.
. Before coming to this earth we lived as spirits in a "pre-existence", during which we were tested; our position in this life (whether born to Mormons or savages, or in America or Africa) is our reward or punishment for our obedience in that life.
. Dark skin is a curse from God, the result of our sin, or the sin of our ancestors. If sufficiently righteous, a dark-skinned person will become light-skinned.
. The Garden of Eden was in Missouri. All humanity before the Great Flood lived in the western hemisphere. The Ark transported Noah and the other survivors to the eastern hemisphere.
. Not only will human beings be resurrected to eternal life, but also all animals - everything that has ever lived on earth - will be resurrected and dwell in heaven.
. Christ will not return to earth in any year that has seen a rainbow.
. Mormons should avoid traveling on water, since Satan rules the waters.
. The sun receives its light from the star Kolob.
. If a Gentile becomes Mormon, the Holy Ghost actually purges his Gentile blood and replaces it with Israelite blood.
When Mitt Romney first announced his candidacy, I had similar thoughts. But then I began to examine those thoughts. I realized that for me, it was being narrow-minded. What is the harm in having a Mormon leader? I have lived in Utah for a long time (pretty much all Mormon leaders here ), and one of the things that I enjoy about the area is the moral values of so many of the residents. This goes all the way up into the politics as well. I may not believe the same way that Romney believes, but he probably has more of a moral compass than many of the candidates.
Back to my question, what is the harm in voting for a Mormon? After all, I've voted for Mormons in all of the local elections what is the difference if it is for president?
You're right - as I stated before, I never met a Mormon I didn't like - I have not met anyone to contradict that they are typically moral, law abiding, and kind. I admit that I might be biased and narrow-minded as I am not a member of the LDS. It is possible that a presidential canditate might make a great leader. It's not their morality that I question, it's their beliefs. I have had initimate conversations with many LDS members (and read some of the Book of Mormon) and I'm only left perplexed on how anyone could believe in something so hokey. If they believe in something that's obviously strange to me then... I might question their ability to make life altering decisions on my countries behalf even though they might do well - in the back of my mind... I can't help but have that lingering doubt. So, there's probably no harm in having a Mormon president but he/she is not getting into office with my vote.
WHAT MORMON (sorry, LDS) MISSIONARIES WILL NOT TELL YOU
. God was once a man like us.
. God has a tangible body of flesh and bone.
. God lives on a planet near the star Kolob.
. God ("Heavenly Father") has at least one wife, our "Mother in Heaven," but she is so holy that we are not to discuss her nor pray to her.
. We can become like God and rule over our own universe.
. There are many gods, ruling over their own worlds.
. Jesus and Satan ("Lucifer") are brothers, and they are our brothers - we are all spirit children of Heavenly Father
. Jesus Christ was conceived by God the Father by having sex with Mary, who was temporarily his wife.
. We should not pray to Jesus, nor try to feel a personal relationship with him.
. The "Lord" ("Jehovah") in the Old Testament is the being named Jesus in the New Testament, but different from "God the Father" ("Elohim").
. In the highest degree of the celestial kingdom some men will have more than one wife.
. Before coming to this earth we lived as spirits in a "pre-existence", during which we were tested; our position in this life (whether born to Mormons or savages, or in America or Africa) is our reward or punishment for our obedience in that life.
. Dark skin is a curse from God, the result of our sin, or the sin of our ancestors. If sufficiently righteous, a dark-skinned person will become light-skinned.
. The Garden of Eden was in Missouri. All humanity before the Great Flood lived in the western hemisphere. The Ark transported Noah and the other survivors to the eastern hemisphere.
. Not only will human beings be resurrected to eternal life, but also all animals - everything that has ever lived on earth - will be resurrected and dwell in heaven.
. Christ will not return to earth in any year that has seen a rainbow.
. Mormons should avoid traveling on water, since Satan rules the waters.
. The sun receives its light from the star Kolob.
. If a Gentile becomes Mormon, the Holy Ghost actually purges his Gentile blood and replaces it with Israelite blood.
Nope not all true ... a lot of it is misrepresentations and distortions. Now please be intellectually honest and post the site from which you gleaned those nuggets. To do otherwise would be plagarism.
I would feel lost if I didn't encounter a nut job o/s The SLC Temple when I go there. They add to the atmosphere.
Unfortunately, many of those nut jobs are former members of the LDS Church.
LOL...I still am offended by their actions (and I'm not even the one they're yelling at!). It makes me want to slap some sense into them. Where do they get the idea that their actions are Christ-like? If they truly have a burden for the souls of the Mormons, then it would make more sense to establish relationships and earn the right to speak to them about religious things. You don't bash them over the head with threats. That just creates closed doors.
Some people cannot be so magnanimous. When a person feels he is bucking the thoughts of the world for a belief and puts his whole heart and soul into it and even places his instincts and credulity aside for a belief system, and then finds out it is all a big lie, I would think it a natural reaction to feel resentment, that one has wasted much time and effort in this cr@p, and has even tried to teach the lies to others, and maybe swayed their opinons, so the lies of the belief system make a liar out of the believer, too. It is like having a lover who has decieved you all the time you were with him/her. I doubt if it is NORMAL, whatever that is, NOT to feel a bit broken for a time. Of course, a lot depends on how full-heartedly one buys into the game in the first place.
The above post is a perfect example of what I am talking about. I never claimed the Methodist or any other non-Mormon faith lies or is "cr@p." I don't care whether the words you use are an accurate reflection of your beliefs or feelings, they seem extremely inappropriate to me.
Just skimmed it so far as it's quite lengthy, but I DEFINATELY will give this link some more time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SergeantL
That is correct; the Church is not a building, sect, or denomination; it is the Church, but those who administered and led the Church were duly anointed by Christ or someone who had been given authority traceable to Christ. That is what I mean. This topic was the first issue I had with the Methodist. When I asked ministers how they knew that Christ wanted them to act in His name, they said they felt it was the right thing to do. Now, one could argue that they were moved by the Spirit, but for me, I am not going to do anything in Christ’s name without a sure and solid understanding he has authorized me to do so. The LDS faith is the only Church, aside from Catholicism, that makes any such claim.
On what grounds does the Mormon church claim that JS was authorized and duly annointed by Christ, thus being the only true Church?
LOL...I still am offended by their actions (and I'm not even the one they're yelling at!). It makes me want to slap some sense into them. Where do they get the idea that their actions are Christ-like? If they truly have a burden for the souls of the Mormons, then it would make more sense to establish relationships and earn the right to speak to them about religious things. You don't bash them over the head with threats. That just creates closed doors.
I agree with you exactly. Unfortunately, I believe most of those individuals do not truly care about saving souls, as much as scoring points. I’ve seen several responses, with varying degrees of Christ-like responses. Some people come and sing hymns to drown them out. Some mockingly shout back at them. One posed for a picture with an “I’m with Stupid” t-shirt on.
The above post is a perfect example of what I am talking about. I never claimed the Methodist or any other non-Mormon faith lies or is "cr@p." I don't care whether the words you use are an accurate reflection of your beliefs or feelings, they seem extremely inappropriate to me.
I stand by my claim from yesterday that GG exhibits an insidious form of prejudice.
I just want to apologize for my sarcasm in my previous post. (The coffee comment). I'm just tired of all of the Mormon-bashing that is taking place on this thread. I understand that everyone has their differences, but there is a right and a wrong way to go about stating those differences. When we approach the topics with an attitude of superiority, it immediately offends the people being discussed and just turns into a mud-slinging match.
I will say again, I have great respect for the people of the LDS faith. As Christians on this forum, we need to remember that all of us are human and that Christ died for all of us. Keeping that in mind, we should show respect to everyone while discussing beliefs and trying to understand where others are coming from.
So is it bashing that I or others share our experiences of how we have been treated. It happened(s) and you don't have to like but to (not necessarily you dojilynn) call people liars or bashers because they are relating a life exp is bull.
You want everyone to listen to what you have to say mormons and I again find that the mormons on this thread are not doing so again reaffirming what I have said in the past. It is one sided.
I guess the name of this thread should be changed because it is deceiving.
Why are mormons so offended to hear of people getting treated badly numerous times by other mormons? It Happens!
Yes maybe there are kind non judgemental I'm your best friend mormons. I have met 3 out of numerous, numerous mormons. So I would have to declare they are a rarity here in Idaho at least.
Again dojilynn I do not mean you as in you.
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But then I began to examine those thoughts. I realized that for me, it was being narrow-minded. What is the harm in having a Mormon leader? I have lived in Utah for a long time (pretty much all Mormon leaders here 
), and one of the things that I enjoy about the area is the moral values of so many of the residents. This goes all the way up into the politics as well. I may not believe the same way that Romney believes, but he probably has more of a moral compass than many of the candidates.
