Not only is the "Mormon gospel" NOT good news (it's legalism thru and thru), but for you Mormons who have stopped believing in the Mormon god...have you ever thought that perhaps it was the Mormon vision of the Mormon god that turned you off to him?
(Perhaps the problem isn't simply with you)
I mean...I'm an "athiest" when it comes to believing in the Mormon god as well...
Why should we believe in...
...one god who is but among thousands/millions/billions? [When even the Book of Mormon never taught that?]
...a flesh-and-body man living on another planet (Mormon Doctrine, p. 321) who got the "god job" -- as Lds teach that a "council of gods" appointed the "god of this planet."
...a god who was ne'er divine going back to eternal past?
...a god who even sinned?
...a creature-god who "died" due to his sin?
In comparison, have you examined closely THE Ultimate God of the Bible?
(I'll document some of the above in posts that follow)
Joseph Smith excerpt #1:
"In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted a plan to create the world and people it." (Joseph Smith, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, p. 5, 1844)
Joseph Smith excerpt #2:
"In the very beginning the Bible shows there is a plurality of Gods beyond the power of refutation. It is a great subject I am dwelling on. The word Eloheim ought to be in the plural all the way through--Gods. The heads of the Gods appointed ONE God for us..." (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 372)
According to Smith's worldview, "the heads of the Gods appointed one God for us." [Why, how nice, Mitt: You worship a god chosen by a bureaucracy at a committee meeting.]
From the OFFICIAL Mormon teachings about Christianity: “In the early centuries of the Christian era...Many men...sought the creation process to make a God which all could accept....they put together an incomprehensible God idea” (Kimball, Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 425).
Oh...so Christianity "changed" the idea that God and men are of the "same race?" That the Mormon god was "saved?" And that if he needed to be saved, that would mean the Mormon god was a "sinner?"
“God and man are of the same race, differing only in their degrees of advancement” (Lds “apostle” John A. Widtsoe, Rational Theology, 1915, p. 61)
”According to revelation, however, he is a personal Being, a holy and exalted Man, a glorified, resurrected Personage having a tangible body of flesh and bones, an anthropomorphic Entity, the personal Father of the spirits of all men.” (Bruce R. Mconkie, Mormon Doctrine, 1966, p. 250)
”The doctrine that God was once a man and has progressed to become a God is unique to this Church.” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 1997, p. 34)
”We offend again in our doctrine that men are of the same race with the divine personages we call Gods. Great stress is laid upon the idea that we believe that 'as man is, God once was, and as God now is, man may become.' The world usually shouts 'blasphemy' and 'sacrilege' at one when he talks of such a possibility” (B.H. Roberts, 1992, Defense of The Faith and The Saints 2:570)
”The Father is a glorified, perfected, resurrected, exalted man who worked out his salvation by obedience to the same laws he has given to us so that we may do the same.” (Lds “apostle” Bruce R. McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, p. 64)
“When you can thus feel, then you may begin to think that you can find out something about God, and begin to learn who he is. He is our Father—the Father of our spirits, and was once a man in mortal flesh as we are, and is now an exalted Being.” (Brigham Young, Oct. 8, 1859, JoD, 7:333)
”It appears ridiculous to the world, under their darkened and erroneous traditions, that God has been once a finite being; and yet we are not in such close communion with him as many have supposed,” (BY, Oct. 8, 1859, JoD, 7:333)
“The idea that the Lord our God is not a personage of tabernacle is entirely a mistaken notion. He was once a man.” (BY, Feb. 23, 1862, JoD, 9:286)
“What, is it possible that the Father of Heights, the Father of our spirits, could reduce himself and come forth like a man? Yes, he was once a man like you and I are and was once on an earth like this...He had his father and his mother and he has been exalted through his faithfulness, and he is beomce Lord of all.” (The Essential BY, p. 138)
“Knowing what we know concerning God our Father-- that he is a personal being; that he has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as our own; that he is an exalted and glorified being; that he was once a man and dwelt on an earth – and knowing that this knowledge was had by many of the ancients, should we be surprised to find legends and myths throughout the cultures of the earth concerning gods who have divine power but human attributes and passions?” (BYU professor Robert L. Millet, “The Eternal Gospel,” Ensign, July 1996, p. 53)
”Joseph Smith did in fact teach that God is a Man of Holiness, an exalted and glorified man.” (BYU professor Robert L., Millet, The Mormon Faith: Understanding Restored Christianity, p. 169)
”Joseph Smith's purpose is to show that the Bible teaches that our Father in Heaven was once mortal, as we are.” (BYU professor Emeritus Joseph Fielding McConkie and Craig Ostler, Revelations of the Restoration, p. 1087)
Faith is both a strong and a delicate thing. At the outset, if we are honest with ourselves we recognize that our religious faith is just that: FAITH. We have no proof of what we believe, of course, or else it would not be faith.
My faith is strongest in the most elementary aspects of what I believe. I believe that there is God. Even this is a bridge of faith too far, but the vast majority believe in at least some Supreme Being. I believe that God is good and fair, and that He desires, but does not force, our love for Him. I believe in Christ as my Savior (and my need for a Savior, perhaps the least challenging faith belief), largely based on the behavior of the apostles and contemporary followers of Christ after His death and resurrection, who underwent severe punishment and deaths for what they believed.
I believe in the Bible, but am not convinced of its literal truth in all aspects. Nevertheless, I believe that all of the Bible has something to teach us.
After that, denominational tenets are sometimes harder to take on faith, and I may be convinced that some are right and some are wrong.
I do believe that if we don’t challenge our faith by examination it can become very weak indeed. That said, I recognize that my faith is MY faith, and others believe otherwise. I may disagree, but I respect their faith (and I expect respect, not compliance, with my faith by others).