Mormonism increasingly draws Spanish-speakers as converts

Arizona Daily Star ^ | March 8, 2008 | Stephanie Innes

[Zakeet]

Spanish-speakers are fueling growth in the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which recently opened new worship space on Tucson's predominantly Hispanic South Side.

Many local Mormon worshippers, like 47-year-old Juan Arroyo, converted to the faith from Catholicism while living in their native countries. Arroyo, a roofer who has four children, joined the church when he lived in Guadalajara, Mexico. He's been in the United States for seven years.

"I was missing something, and my life changed greatly after meeting the missionaries," he said in Spanish.

Nationally, the number of Spanish-speaking congregations in the Mormon church grew by 64 percent between 2000 and 2006. There are 639 such congregations in the United States.

[Snip]

The church is growing quickly in Mexico.

Church officials say its presence there began in 1875 when Brigham Young, then denomination president, called on six missionaries from Salt Lake City to bring Spanish-language materials about the church to Mexico. In 1885, a group of nearly 400 colonists from Utah arrived at northern Mexico's Casas Grandes River. Mexico's first stake was created in Colonia Juárez in 1895. By 1912, more than 4,000 members had settled in Chihuahua and Sonora.

More than 1 million members now live in Mexico, a predominantly Catholic country with a population of about 108 million.

[Godzilla]

See my post 2,199

Enoch's prophecy is a non prophecy but some words put into Enoch's mouth by an anonymous writer. Kinda like the bom - a bogus prophet making bogus statement about God as well as failed prophecies.

[conservativegramma]

Lying for the Lord again Delphi??? I know first hand that everything you study and learn MUST BE APPROVED by the LDS…… I REPEAT THE QUESTION ASKED YESTERDAY... WHERE DO YOU ALL GET THIS STUFF?

I for one primarily get this stuff from ex-mormons. Since my church has for the past 30+ years financially supported the Utah Bible Mission, a LOT of the stuff comes from their members. Fascinating to say the least, but since they don’t have a website, I can’t give you a link to anything. However, there are others which contain many testimonies by ex-mormons to threats, intimidation, abuse, and so one that do have links….Personal Testimonies. Do a google and you’ll be amazed at the abundance of others. This one’s interesting as it mentions ‘church approved’ literature ‘church approved’ literature…..and then there are your own Articles of Faith whereby it is mentioned that the Bible is only accepted …as far as it is translated correctly;… #8 on your Articles of Faith site regarding the Bible. Then I found this interesting article, Missionaries Spread the News but Don’t Read It posted on the New York Times by Anthony Ramirez published February 10, 2008. An interesting excerpt:

“But missionaries are also unusually blinkered, forbidden from reading newspapers, watching television or listening to the radio.”

Then I found some fascinating stuff regarding book burning by Mormons:

“Good-natured Sven A. Wiman can manage a cautious grin when his married daughter relates...how when he returned home each evening from his part-time employment in various used book stores throughout Sweden he would produce an anti-Mormon book and then proceed to burn it. Sweden, you learn, has literally no end of anti-Church books, and Elder Wiman set himself up as a one-man cleanup committee to destroy as many of these diatribes against the Church as possible.” (Deseret News, Church Section, May 16, 1953, p.10).

“...I wonder how many good-will tours by the Tabernacle Choir would be required to repair the damage done to the Mormon image when Playboy, with its enormous circulation and impact on young people, published the fact that Mormon missionaries were engaged in a campaign of book-burning? The item was a letter from a librarian of Northampton, Mass., Lawrence Wikander, published first in the American Library Association's Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, May, 1963,...Wikander told of two Elders arriving at his library to inspect the index of Mormon material. They offered a list of "more up-to-date material" and after delivering it made the following proposition: ‘Now that we had these books which told the truth about their religion, undoubtedly we would like to discard other books in the library which told lies about the Mormon Church. Other libraries, they said, had been glad to have this pointed out to them.’”

“Following the expose...a friend of mine tried to find out how extensive the missionary book-burning campaign had been. A number of returned missionaries from both domestic and foreign missions admitted that they had participated in it, but data as to when and how and by whom the project had been originated was, understandably, unavailable.”

“Self-appointed Comstocks among us have for years been dedicated to the unholy quest of seeking out and destroying books considered unfavorable.... My brother Raymond was approached by a zealot offering a number of rare Mormon books bearing library stamps; the devout saint blandly admitted stealing them to protect the public, but said he was sure that Raymond, would not be harmed.” (Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Summer 1967, p.26).

Well to be fair, perhaps the LDS has reversed policy on book burning since the 50’s & 60’s.

Here’s another interesting link I found: Mormon Church Hides Its True History. As to the “Lying for the Lord” thingy this one’s fascinating from Gospel Teaching About Lying from Elder Dallin H. Oaks, a fireside address given to faculty, students, and alumni of BYU on September 12, 1993. He goes on to give a great treatise on the sinfulness of lying then towards the end does a 180 and claims the following:

“In contrast to the obligation to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, the obligation to “tell the whole truth” is subject to an important qualification…..”

“Whether a speaker is morally or legally obliged to speak ‘the whole truth’ is therefore determined by the extent of the speaker's duty to disclose……”

“In the matter of lying, the essential question is not whether we have a duty to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. We clearly have that duty. We must not lie. I know of no category of justified lies.”

“The difficult question is whether we are morally responsible to tell the whole truth. When we have a duty to disclose, we are morally responsible to do so. Where there is no duty to disclose, we have two alternatives. We may be free to disclose if we choose to do so, but there will be circumstances where commandments, covenants, or professional obligations require us to remain silent.”

Mormon writer Robert J. Matthews says, in the October 1994 Ensign article entitled "Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness," that the ninth commandment is a:

"…strong declaration against ... gross understatements, fabrication, or the willful giving of any explanation not supported by the facts.... Even sharing the truth can have the effect of lying when we tell only half-truths that do not give the full picture. We can also be guilty of bearing false witness and lying if we say nothing, particularly if we allow another to reach a wrong conclusion while we hold back information that would have led to a more accurate perception. In this case it is as though an actual lie were uttered.... Lying and misrepresentation in all of their forms are wrong, no matter how they may be rationalized, and those who silently let these evils pass unchallenged are also doing wrong".

Hmmm but its done anyway per Elder Oaks sermon. Per Matthews above, a half-truth is still a lie isn't it? So the whole Lying for the Lord thingy is supported by your own leaders and teachers.

Then there is the testimony of a Mormon who was excommunicated for telling the truth about Mormon historical documents. Nice group of guys you hang with. Here’s some excerpts:

“He then proceeded to tell the court of my sin. I had, he declared, disobeyed a direct order, and that of his predecessor, to conceal doctrines from the press and public. ……”

“I was pained to discover about 13 years ago that some church members believe its better to deny or conceal doctrine and history, rather than discuss things honestly and openly. …”

“I was told that the decision already had been made by leaders such as Boyd K. Packer and Elder Dallin Oaks: Some facts, some doctrines, are embarrassing and must be concealed….”

“Only faith-inspiring facts and doctrines may be discussed. Anything that is not immediately faith-promoting is considered to be "advanced history" (Packer's term) and must be concealed with all of the zeal of a corporate lawyer hiding documents that could incriminate his company….”

You have a nice day now, hear?

[restornu]

Wow, I can’t believe anyone ever believed that either.

I agree with you it is spin out of context and if you are reading it with your *natural man eyes or from the world point of view.

*Natural man has a vast range from depth of wickedness to being civil but never able to receive from the things of God

1 Cor. 2: ,br> 9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

It is through searching the scriptures and allowing the Lord to show you which enables you than to understand.

[bonfire]

Soooo, whenever you see facts about your church and it’s leaders that are ugly, you pray about it and God tells you “nevermind, resty. It’s all just spin”??

huh?

[restornu]

Poor BF who choose to remain in the natural man state!

[bonfire]

spin spin spin

dizzy dizzy dizzy

[DungeonMaster]

It is through searching the scriptures and allowing the Lord to show you which enables you than to understand.

Actually it is from reading through the bible some 50 times that makes the heresy of Joseph Smith scream so loudly. It takes a real lack of knowledge of the Word of God to lack the discernment necessary to avaid falling into Mormonism.

[restornu]

Actually it is from reading through the bible some 50 times that makes the heresy of Joseph Smith scream so loudly. It takes a real lack of knowledge of the Word of God to lack the discernment necessary to avaid falling into Mormonism.

You still are roaming around in stumbleland

Those who search the scriputers are able to hear the Lord as he elevates our mind to receive what can't be understood in our temportal abode.

[Enosh]

While the BoE is indeed apocryphal and as such cannot be taken at face value, some neat stuff is in there. Vis:

-=-=-

On the tenth heaven, which is called Aravoth, I saw the appearance of the Lord's face, like iron made to glow in fire, and brought out, emitting sparks, and it burns.

Thus in a moment of eternity I saw the Lord's face, but the Lord's face is ineffable, marvelous and very awful, and very, very terrible.

And who am I to tell of the Lord's unspeakable being, and of his very wonderful face? And I cannot tell the quantity of his many instructions, and various voices, the Lord's throne is very great and not made with hands, nor the quantity of those standing round him, troops of cherubim and seraphim, nor their incessant singing, nor his immutable beauty, and who shall tell of the ineffable greatness of his glory.

-=-=-

(Slavonic Ch. 22)

That's cool!

[Godzilla]

That's cool!

Yes, and a false (didn't happen) vision - just like smith's first vision.

[Elsie]

Are you starting to see how this works?

Yup!

Joseph saw a god with TWO bodies.

[Elsie]

I can’t believe anyone ever believed anything like that.

There is no need to believe: just read!

[Elsie]

Who cares. I don’t read cut and past from single issue pasters. Yawn!!!

That's ok.... others do.

(The single issue is this:

Joseph Smith was deceived.)

[Elsie]

9 Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you—there is no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; Except for you; Joseph.

You will get blown away in a jail somewhere!

[Elsie]

I agree with you it is spin out of context and if you are reading it with your *natural man eyes or from the world point of view.

Translation from RESTY speak to English:

Ignore EVERYTHING that is cut from our Scriptures; because we are going to tell you that it DOESN'T mean what it says!

[Elsie]

Poor BF who choose to remain in the natural man state!

Translation from RESTY speak to English: Yes.

[Elsie]

It takes a real lack of knowledge of the Word of God to lack the discernment necessary to avaid falling into Mormonism.

And that is exACTly what happened to Joseph Smith.

According to the 'official' First Vision story; he was merely an ignornat, 14 yo farmboy with no biblical knowledge that was deceived by two Angels of Light.

(They BOTH had bodies and he did NOT shake their hands.)

[Elsie]

 

Those who search the scriputers are able to hear the Lord ...

 

Yeah... sure...

 

Smith	Young	Taylor	Pratt	Snow	Kimball	Woodruff

 

 

 1 Timothy 3:2-3
 2.  Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
 3.  not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.

 

 

1 Timothy 3:12
   A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well.

 

 

 Titus 1:6
   An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.

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BEHOLD!!!!  The Restorative Power  of the Book of Mormon!!

 

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THE BOOK OF JACOB
THE BROTHER OF NEPHI

CHAPTER 2

 

  24 Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord.
  25 Wherefore, thus saith the Lord, I have led this people forth out of the land of Jerusalem, by the power of mine arm, that I might raise up unto me a righteous branch from the fruit of the loins of Joseph.
  26 Wherefore, I the Lord God will not suffer that this people shall do like unto them of old.
  27 Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none;
  28 For I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts.
  29 Wherefore, this people shall keep my commandments, saith the Lord of Hosts, or cursed be the land for their sakes.
  30 For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things.
  31 For behold, I, the Lord, have seen the sorrow, and heard the mourning of the daughters of my people in the land of Jerusalem, yea, and in all the lands of my people, because of the wickedness and abominations of their husbands.
  32 And I will not suffer, saith the Lord of Hosts, that the cries of the fair daughters of this people, which I have led out of the land of Jerusalem, shall come up unto me against the men of my people, saith the Lord of Hosts.

 

 

[restornu]

...as the ignorant fools who continue to sneer and mock the LDS!

[Invincibly Ignorant]

Lol. ok.