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You can still tell all the jokes you want. Those of us who are comfortable with our relationship with Christ and have facts on our side take no issues with such, indeed probably tell the same ones ourselves...

I cannot tell you how many “A Baptist Preacher, a Methodist Preacher etc. etc.” jokes I have heard at Church functions...

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to everyone...

:)

LOL and I am so grateful to you and everyone else on this site.

Were it not for this discussion I would have gone through life perpetuating an old joke and myth.

Thank You,

Merry Christmas to you and your family.

There are only two philosophies: Thomism and bullshitism!

Frankly, I think that both of the "philosophies" that you mentioned are pretty much the same, except that sometimes BSism does no harm.

You have done what I wish many would do.

Read.

You understand the basics of the Methodist movement already. It is really rather simple. Wesley felt the biggest issue was a lack of taking time for God in daily life. The “Method” helped solve the issue. The neat thing is that it is not a “fixed” routine, but something you make your own, just like the relationship with Christ.

Methodist and Baptist share many things, including many good meals together ;-)...

Have a blessed Christmas.

So I can have the last word, okay - Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to you and yours.

Merry Christmas with love to you and your family.

God Bless us all, everyone....

Wonder what I will learn before the end of the year?

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Not to ping Elsie when she is in “mormon dude” mode. OR interrupt an “elsiethon”. :)

Love ya, else....

Thanks. A very interesting story.

Now could you imagine a Mormon Christmas play where they decide to use the "pure language" for angels & referenced them as Joseph Smith did -- "Awman Angls men?"

I read an individual over his head and thinking the only way out is to dig deeper.

I had found those links to do my quick research and arrived at the conclusion the Methodists are but one of many Christian franchises that sprung from the Protestant movement and the word “Methodist” does not imply working your wsy to or climbing a ladder of hierachy to heaven.

It is in fact very similar to the Baptists(I am Baptist).

Methodist is a term to describe a way of living in daily prayer and a fulfillment of the greatest command of Charity.

At least that is what I got in the last hour or two.

Thank you so much for your posts. I had not ever considered looking into the other churches of Weslyan/Calvinist origin and now “I gots naw prawblem wit ‘em”.

Wonder what I will learn before the end of the year?

Throwing scriptures at me doesn’t do any good either. I have read all those scriptures before, probably more than most born-again Christians ever have.

LOL!!

Yeah..those scriptures are just worthless....especially to someone who's read them more than "most born-again Christians ever have"

Hey, you can have the last word....

If you really want to see what the Methodist believe go to the source. You will find we have nothing to hide.

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UNLIKE the Mormons.

We can respect Mormons, and we can work with them on common grounds. But why is it wrong to inform naive Christians what it is that the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints actually teaches, and what Mormons actually believe?

Wow, rational thought. I'm glad someone recognizes this truth rather than start calling it hate speech.

Ah, I see. Yes, the METHOD part does tend to make it appear that way I would guess. But be assured works are a fruit of the spirit that has entered into us through his saving Grace.

Also service is a large part of that because John Wesley viewed the world as one large perish.

Unfortunately more liberal elements in the Church have taken that a tick or more too far. Some of us are working on fixing that.

If you really want to see what the Methodist believe go to the source. You will find we have nothing to hide.

http://www.saintaquinas.com/Methodists.html

http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=16&mid=1286

Interestingly enough the Muslims are successful at having strong belief focused families and spreading their faith.

Perhaps it is because the "death" part applies only to the women.

You are either very brave, very dedicated or fresh out of LDS training...

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I went back and re-read Yellow’s post, and I am pretty sure he/she is a freshly returned LDS missionary. Just sounds like canned mishie responses.

Why should Mormons object to others saying about LDS beliefs what they actually teach one another and actually believe?

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Excellent post. To answer your question, there are a couple of answers.

First, many LDS really have little idea some of what the LDS church has taught. Converts especially are unfamiliar with many of the “meat” doctrines. I was an exception; I learned the “meat” doctrines within a year or so after converting to the LDS.

This also applies to those LDS who have not been through the Temple ceremonies. There is quite a bit of “meat” doctrines in those ceremonies and a vow is taken not to discuss it outside the temple. So, for those who have not “taken out their Endowments”, there is unfamiliarity there as well.

The other answer is that, frankly, some of the LDS doctrines are embarrassing and the LDS feel that it will be misunderstood by non-members (aka gentiles) who have “less light and knowledge”.

When I was preparing to serve my LDS mission, I took a “Mission Prep” class at BYU. We were given a list of doctrines that we (as Missionaries) were NOT to teach/discuss, such as Blacks were decendants of Cain, there is a Mother in Heaven, Jesus was married and the like.

This bothered me greatly, because I believed that the LDS had ALL truth. So I asked the professor, “Why, if we have the truth, are we not telling the truth to investigators (potential converts)?” He responded by saying, “If we told the whole truth, no one would join.”

That is when I decided that I would not be able to serve and LDS mission. I could not go out and intentionally mislead people. I went “inactive” about 6 months later, and left the LDS church permanently just over a year later.

Answered in my previous post and I think it may be an old joke which turned into a misconception among other Christians.

If I am correct, then I can dispel what looks to be an inaccurate joke and belief.

Is there a Methodist Doctrine or is it called such as a movement and for establishing a daily routine of prayer, worship and social work in Christian Life.

Could I sum it up that way and tell my mother there are no other steps to get to heaven. The old joke is Methodists are working their way to heaven and it looks more that is a concept for the Mormons.

It looks like my quick research shows that you follow Nicean and Apostle Creed and perhaps the Romans road is part of your ministry.

So what if a some Mormons tell you that you’re wrong, I get told that by “saved” Christians all the time and I don’t go around exposing the “evilness” of their beliefs.

What I have been basically trying to do here is say “Look, I agree that Mormons make mistakes, but don’t Biblical/Traditional/Mainstream/Evangelical/Fundamental Christian make the same mistakes also, but it seems to me that most of the posters on this thread are so focused in the the evils of LDSers that they don’t notice the same problems exist within their own denominations.

To me, they are attempting to distract the reader from their own problems by pointing out the problems of others.

I get told over and over again that Mormons are trying to kills the spirituality of good people, but then again, I get told in the next sentence that only God and save and that none of our works can never, ever, affect the outcome. If God wants somebody saved, there is nothing that can stop that person from being saved and if God doesn’t want that person saved, the dude is bound for Hell, no matter what that person does. So, how can something I do ever kill the spirituality of anybody if only God can do that. I could preach and spew vileness all day and all night, yet, according to what many saved Christians have said, I can do nothing to ever unsave one single soul and if somebody who was “saved” denies the faith and rejects God, then that person was never really saved.

I live in the Bible-belt and some of my best friends are born-again Christians, one was even a Baptist minister who was my neighbor. He would invite me over occasionally to help him prepare sermons and his congregation loves him. My friends and I never tear each other’s beliefs down nor so we point out the mistakes/inconsistencies of them either. We decided a long time ago that if we were ever going to convince each other that we were right, we had to convince them that we were right and not that their were wrong.

I have asked for people in most of my religious discussions to do that, to show me why they were right and not why I am wrong, because by doing the former, they can then easily do the latter, but by doing the latter, they are even beginning to do the former.

I have had born-again Christians spew hatred and self-loathing all over me and my family and all that does is to convince me even more that they aren’t teaching me the truth. These born-again Christians tell me how happy they are, but all I hear from them is anger and bitterness. They tell me they love me and that is why they are being so mean and so hateful. God has told us that our fruits are important, but I only see poisonous fruits coming from these people.

Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, told us to not hide our lights under the bushel, but I haven’t seen too many people shining any light on this forum when it comes to discussing Mormonism. Do they think that Jesus would have us shining our lights for all to see or would he rather have us hiding our lights under the bushel, acting like the Pharisee praying in the temple, and then pointing out how evil somebody else is?

Throwing scriptures at me doesn’t do any good either. I have read all those scriptures before, probably more than most born-again Christians ever have.

I find the words of Krister Stendahl, the former Dean of Harvard Divinity School on how to treat the beliefs of other very useful. They are known as the Stendahl’s 3 Rules of Religious Understanding:

(1) When you are trying to understand another religion, you should ask the adherents of that religion and not its enemies.

(2) Don’t compare your best to their worst.

(3) Leave room for “holy envy.” (By this Stendahl meant that you should be willing to recognize elements in the other religious tradition or faith that you admire and wish could, in some way, be reflected in your own religious tradition or faith.)

Point?