The lowdown on us Mormons... (Salt Lake City, Ephraim: ordinances, places, work)

[kaytidid]

I am glad that I have not come across anyone that has any predjudice to Catholics any longer. I have a bit of an anecdote about getting along with LDS...A great friend of mine is LDS. It happens that her son and my daughter are boyfriend/girlfriend. Anyway, she told me the other day that she went to the Salt Lake Temple. I told her I was jealous. I was able to see the Oquirrh Temple and thought it was beautiful. I would LOVE to see the Salt Lake Temple. She continues the conversation by saying, "start coming to church with me and we can get that arranged." I reply to her, "I know. No thanks, but good try " She tells me that she will keep trying and I tell her that I wouldn't expect anything less. It was all in good fun and she says "just as long as we understand each other." Of course we do. We are great friends and respect each other as people, therefore each other's beliefs also.
I so love her! She is one of my most bestest friends!

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by kaytidid

I am glad that I have not come across anyone that has any predjudice to Catholics any longer.

I have always said that if I were ever to leave Mormonism (which is highly unlikely ) and join another Christian Church, it would be Catholicism.

[kaytidid]

Originally Posted by Katzpur

I have always said that if I were ever to leave Mormonism (which is highly unlikely ) and join another Christian Church, it would be Catholicism.

Come to church with me, Katz and we can get that arranged...

[JaneyBlu]

I have a question. I could probably look it up, but we have such a willing and knowledgeable source here...

Hopefully this hasn't been asked before--or even in this very thread, for that matter--but how did it begin that the LDS church refers to everyone who isn't LDS as "gentile" when for ages (literally) "gentile" has been defined as someone who isn't Jewish?

I'm really curious because Jews refer to Christians as gentiles...and Christians also refer to themselves as gentiles, in contrast to Jewish. Everyone outside of the LDS faith uses the word "gentile" to refer to Christians or someone who isn't Jewish and it has been that way since...well, forever. When, in the course of history, was this redefined in the Mormon church and why?

If it wasn't for some divine reson...it seems to me that if the LDS church wants to be seen as just another facet of mainstream Christianity, then it would want to be referred to as gentile...because the world considers "gentile" to mean "Christian" or "not Jewish."

[osugirl2]

Katzpur, would that have something to do with the LDS as seeing their church as the restored church of Jesus Christ? I know the reason that we Methodists use the term Gentiles is because the Bible says that the house of Israel are God's chosen people. It was up to them to bring the message of Jesus to the rest of civilization whom were called the Gentiles.

[hilgi]

Originally Posted by Katzpur

I mean that the cross was not used by Protestant Church for quite a number of years after the Protestant Reformation begin, for the same reason that we LDS still don't use it: It was due to anti-Catholic prejudice. How sad.

Hi Katz,

I don't know if the reformers were prejudice or it was more their feeling that the cross had become more of an idol. A lot of the reformation based writings talk about being against anything that takes the focus off the saving grace of Jesus and they would include the cross as taking away the focus.

[golightlygirl]

Katspur

Thanks for addressing the issue of the cross. And to all the others too who put in their insight.

Now I have another question if you would be so kind.

Do Mormons post the Ten Commandments in their yards? I have seen a few around town and it gave me pause.

I am from Savannah, GA, so I can understand and appeciate Belle's chuckle over the vampire story, but there are Ten Commandments in every courthouse office and every other yard.

[markg91359]

Katspur

Thanks for addressing the issue of the cross. And to all the others too who put in their insight.

Now I have another question if you would be so kind.

Do Mormons post the Ten Commandments in their yards? I have seen a few around town and it gave me pause.

I am from Savannah, GA, so I can understand and appeciate Belle's chuckle over the vampire story, but there are Ten Commandments in every courthouse office and every other yard.

.................................................. ...............................................

I haven't seen that. Although, you'll find the Ten Commandment plaques in parks and around courthouses here too. I would say the Ten Commandments are definitely important to LDS people, we speak frequently of "keeping the commandments". During interviews with our Bishop, we'll frequently be asked if we are obeying those laws. There's also a belief though that when Christ came to the earth that he gave us a higher set of laws to follow. If you notice the wording of the Ten Commandments, they are all worded in terms of negatives (telling us what we can't do). The higher law is positive in nature and would be more in terms of what we ought to do, rather than what we shouldn't do. (You will attend church. You will get married in the temple. You will serve a mission etc.)

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by osugirl2

Katzpur, would that have something to do with the LDS as seeing their church as the restored church of Jesus Christ? I know the reason that we Methodists use the term Gentiles is because the Bible says that the house of Israel are God's chosen people. It was up to them to bring the message of Jesus to the rest of civilization whom were called the Gentiles.

You're on the right track. I'll have to get back to you on this one (unless someone else gets back to you first, which would be fine). My 96-year-old mother lives with me and hasn't been doing well this week. I haven't been able to post much the last couple of days.

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by kaytidid

Come to church with me, Katz and we can get that arranged...

Midnight Mass at Christmas, maybe!