[StarfireIV]

Looking at what I have written, I cannot help but think that this is like holding my thumb against the wheel of a Zippo in a room full of gasoline. Yeah well, back pain, pain meds, and the AM hours will do that I suppose. I just wish we could leave the incendiary comments alone, focus on the POLICIES of certain candidates, policy wonks, and public figures.
Brothers and Sisters, when we don't engage the brain before we put the mouth in gear, we look no better than any one of those left-wing nutcase blogs that talk about 911 conspiracies, Skull and bones society, etc.
"General, the enemy is THERE" R. E. Lee spoken to James Longstreet at Gettysburg

[Darkwolf377]

I'm an atheist, and I don't feel the need to play victim, so if any religious bigots feel the need to slam some following, slam mine--oh, wait, I don't have one... ;)

I think I've seen more "Mormons are being victimized" threads than I've seen individual comments bashing Mormons, just fyi.

[bad company]

Thank god for the mexicans or the mormons would really be under fire.

[television is just wrong]

saw a film several years ago. called the God makers. In which it claims that the mormon religion is a cult because they teach you things like you are given your own planet to populate while you are here on earth the children you have here will be the ones on your own planet in your next life.

[IslandJeff]

JFK was Catholic, and there was a similar stench to the process back then (particularly within the Dems). Unimaginable now.

Roll with it. It’s a fallen world, and we’re all ugly in some way. Romney is fine with me. We’re not a theocracy. By their deeds shall ye know them. Hang in there.

[HEY4QDEMS]

That’s right you figured us all out.

Maybe you should apply to be their personal “Al Sharpton”.

[HisKingdomWillAbolishSinDeath]

Man looketh on the outward, God looketh on the heart. Either your name is written in the Book of Life, or its not. Has absolutely nothing to do with your religious affiliation. Whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

[Mark was here]

I used to think that having multiple wives was all fun and games, and it did not bother me if that is what the Mormons and others wanted to do. It just wasn't for me.

Recently stories have been coming out about teenage boys being kicked out of their homes to go live on the streets. This is being done so the older men wont have to compete against them for the younger girls, that the older men want to have sex with.

I do not see the whole mater as fun and games any longer.

[johnny7]

They have one thing goin’ for them... they don’t have homo’s as bishops.

[Quix]

At LEAST a couple are true . . .

Regardless . . . nice relief from the RC diatribes.

[DieHard the Hunter]

Most folk would be better off watching after their own walk before God, and nevermind the Mormons. Or the Jehovah Witnesses. Or the Hare Krshnas.

Make sure our own walk is upright — God will sort out the rest.

[CzarNicky]

9. "If Mormons only accepted God as I see him, I'd be ok with them."

In all fairness This is said about just every religion that is not theirs not just Mormons.

[WhiteGuy]

Not a single mention of the wearing of magical underpants????

[proudpapa]

I won’t support this or that candidate, politician, public figure because he’s a Mormon, and yes, Mormonism is a Cult.

[theFIRMbss]

When Christians hear Mormons refer to the Garden of Eden they may incorrectly assume that the LDS believe it was by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Joseph Smith, however, claimed by revelation that the Garden of Eden was in western Missouri...

[martin_fierro]

Mormon ideology aside, I think the physical similarity is amazing.

Ol' Brigham prolly couldn't complete a pass for sh*t, tho.

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

If you are going to quote FReepers, shouldn't you have footnotes? It could be construed that you you simply voiced these, or made them up, yourself.

[Bot]

The Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) is often misunderstood . . Some accuse the Church of not believing in Christ and, therefore, not being a Christian religion . . This post helps to clarify such misconceptions

· Baptism: .

Early Christian churches, practiced baptism of youth (not infants) by immersion by the father of the family. The local congregation had a lay ministry. An early Christian Church has been re-constructed at the Israel Museum, and the above can be verified. http://www.imj.org.il/eng/exhibitions/2000/christianity/ancientchurch/structure/index.html
The Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) continues baptism and a lay ministry as taught by Jesus’ Apostles. . Early Christians were persecuted for keeping their practices sacred, and not allowing non-Christians to witness them

· The Trinity: .

A literal reading of the New Testament points to God and Jesus Christ , His Son , being separate , divine beings , united in purpose. . To whom was Jesus praying in Gethsemane, and Who was speaking to Him and his apostles on the Mount of Transfiguration?

The Nicene Creed”s definition of the Trinity was influenced by scribes translating the Greek manuscripts into Latin. . The scribes embellished on a passage explaining the Trinity , which is the Catholic and Protestant belief that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. . The oldest versions of the epistle of 1 John, read: “There are three that bear witness: the Spirit, the water and the blood and these three are one.”

Scribes later added “the Father, the Word and the Spirit,” and it remained in the epistle when it was translated into English for the King James Version, according to Dr. Bart Ehrman, Chairman of the Religion Department at UNC- Chapel Hill. . . .He no longer believes in the Nicene Trinity. .

Scholars agree that Early Christians believed in an embodied God; it was neo-Platonist influences that later turned Him into a disembodied Spirit. . Divinization, narrowing the space between God and humans, was also part of Early Christian belief. . The Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) views the Trinity as three separate divine beings , in accord with the earliest Greek New Testament manuscripts.

· The Deity of Jesus Christ

Mormons hold firmly to the deity of Christ. For members of the Church of Jesus Christ (LDS), Jesus is not only the Son of God but also God the Son. Evangelical pollster George Barna found in 2001 that while only 33 percent of American Catholics, Lutherans, and Methodists (28 percent of Episcopalians) agreed that Jesus was “without sin”, 70 percent of Mormons believe Jesus was sinless. http://www.adherents.com/misc/BarnaPoll.html

· The Cross: .

The Cross became popular as a Christian symbol in the Fifth Century A.D. . Members of the Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) believe the proper Christian symbol is Christ’s resurrection , not his crucifixion on the Cross. Many Mormon chapels feature paintings of the resurrected Christ or His Second Coming.

· Christ’s Atonement: .

But Mormons don”t term Catholics and Protestants “non-Christian”. . They believe Christ’s atonement in Gethsemane and on the Cross applies to all mankind. . The dictionary definition of a Christian is “of, pertaining to, believing in, or belonging to a religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ”: . All of the above denominations are followers of Christ, and consider him divine, and the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament. They all worship the one and only true God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and address Him in prayer as prescribed in The Lord’s Prayer.

It”s important to understand the difference between Reformation and Restoration when we consider who might be authentic Christians. If members of the Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) embrace early Christian theology , they are likely more “Christian” than their detractors.

* * *

· Christ-Like Lives: . . .The 2005 National Study of Youth and Religion published by UNC-Chapel Hill found that Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) youth (ages 13 to 17) were more likely to exhibit these Christian characteristics than Evangelicals (the next most observant group):

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . LDS Evangelical

Attend Religious Services weekly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71% . . . . 55%

Importance of Religious Faith in shaping daily life –

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . extremely important .. 52. . . . . . . 28

Believes in life after death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 . . . . . . 62

Believes in psychics or fortune-tellers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . . . . . . 5

Has taught religious education classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 . . . . . . 28

Has fasted or denied something as spiritual discipline . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 . . . . . . 22

Sabbath Observance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 . . . . . . 40

Shared religious faith with someone not of their faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 . . . . . . 56

Family talks about God, scriptures, prayer daily . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 . . . . . . 19

Supportiveness of church for parent in trying to raise teen

(very supportive) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 . . . . . . 26

Church congregation has done an excellent job in helping

Teens better understand their own sexuality and sexual morality . . . . . 84 . . . . . . 35