Probably get some nasty PM’s from other LDS’ers. At least I didn’t take anything out of context or invent it out of whole cloth.
The words are exact and in their current manuals. They are explicit and implicit but, I think we know what is meant by:
Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained that faith is part of the fertile ground that nourishes conversion:
“The first seeds of conversion begin with an awareness of the gospel of Jesus Christ and a desire to know the truth concerning His restored Church.
‘Let this desire work in you’ (Alma 32:27). A desire to know the truth is like a seed which grows in the fertile ground of faith, patience, diligence and
long-suffering (see Alma 32:27–41). . . .
The Church of Christ Latter Day Saints makes no pretense as to who their target market is for conversion.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught that conversion requires a complete willingness to give up all practices contrary to the teachings of the restored
gospel:
“The gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to change. ‘Repent’ is its most frequent message, and repenting means giving up all of our practices—
personal, family, ethnic, and national—that are contrary to the commandments of God. The purpose of the gospel is to transform common
creatures into celestial citizens, and that requires change” (in Conference Report, Oct. 2003, 39; or Ensign, Nov. 2003, 37).
The Church of Christ Latter Day Saints makes no pretense as to who their target market is for conversion.
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When I was in my mission prep class at BYU, we were told to scour the newspapers for people who had just gotten married, engaged, had a baby, or a death in the family (people who were going through ‘transition’), and track them down if at all possible because they were more likely to convert.
IMO, the LDS want people who will not or cannot think for themselves. Those who do are often not members very long if ever.
It wouldn’t matter if you had a video tape of their prophet saying those words and posted it for all to see. You would still be called a “hater”, “anti” or some other pejorative term.
That was a very informative post btw. Thanks.
SZ