>> The type of faith the biblical Jesus espouses is the type that what you hear in secret, you shout from the rooftops.
Can I get an interpretation here?
The type of religion occultism espouses, it's done with step by step initiation, like the X number of degrees of Free Masonry (some of those rites Joseph Smith imported from Free Masonry into temple ceremonies).
OOOOK. For the last time Mormons do NOT teach that Satan is our ELDER spirit brother. That he existed before the world was created, that the fell from heaven are well documented in the Bible, and we accept that. What we do teach is that we also existed before the world was, we do not know (and its not important) who was born in what order except that Christ was the first born.
Why would we teach, much less lead with Satan being our elder brother since we dont believe it? It is not some Deeper doctrine you will only be taught after you are trapped. As a matter of fact, if getting out of the Mormon Church is so hard why are there so many Ex-Mormons? The easiest and fastest way to get your name removed from the church is to go to your bishop, tell him you are not keeping your covenants, and do not intend on it, and you want out. He will give you a form letter to sign and in two weeks you will be a Free man.
IMHO: in order for something to be a trap it must be difficult to get out of (Ive sat in chairs that were more of a trap)
>>The fact that Mormonism has all of these "tucked-away" beliefs and practices shows
>>the need for its church to exercise these family-focused P.R. campaigns. Even its own
>>prophet-prez (Hinckley) twice ducked MSM questions when asked about the Mormon
>>belief of becoming gods.
>>Don't bother to patronize us, either, by saying that you only give milk to infants. That
>>verse just becomes another prooftext by LDS apologists for excusing away the
>>Occultic initiation that a BYU professor (Michael Quinn) wrote about re: Smith's
>>Magical World view.
There is nothing Tucked away about Mormonism. And Milk before meat is of course the only reasonable course, have you ever cared for an infant? Taught Calculus to someone who does not yet know algebra? Some things have to be learned in order in order to be understood anyone who says otherwise is hiding something.
He answered a direct question with a direct answer. He did not elaborate, he didnt have to.
As for Michael Quinn, I do not recognize the name, how did he come to speak for the church? Can you link me to his comments on LDS.org?
Well, YOU may not teach that...but it's been taught in the LDS church! LDS general authorities and writers have called Lucifer the "next heir to Jesus Christ" and "a spirit brother of ours." Furthermore, they labeled Jesus as an "elder brother" to Lucifer. (documentation all follows)
So, do you want to explain how Lucifer can be the "next heir to Jesus" and not be your "elder brother?" The way you phrase your objections, you do not object to the fact that you believe that Lucifer is your brother, only that he is not your elder brother.
But if Lucifer was spirit-birthed in heaven before you and every other Mormon, alive or dead, why bother insisting on these "technical" objections?
The bottom line here is that according to LDS teachings, both Lucifer and every Mormon claims Jesus as their "elder brother." Wow! What a family!
Documentation
In 1844, LDS author W.W. Phelps wrote: "And again, we exclaim, O Mormonism! No wonder that Lucifer, son of the morning, the next heir to Jesus Christ, our eldest brother, should fight so hard against his brethren; he lost the glory, the honor, power, and dominion of a God and the knowledge, spirit, authority and keys of the priesthood of the son of God!"
By 1949, according to this LDS Conference Report, LDS apostle Joseph F. Merrill says that Lucifer "is a spirit brother of ours and of our Lord Jesus Christ..." Here's the exact quote:
"Now there is another personality of which I desire to speak, ... that person is Satan, the Devil. But according to our understanding and teaching, Satan is a person with a spirit body, in form like that of all other men. He is a spirit brother of ours and of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Elder Brother in the spirit world. The earth was in course of development for the abode of man in mortality. A Redeemer was to be sent down and make it possible for the Father's children to return to him." (LDS Conference Report, April 1949, p. 27)
LDS Apostle John A. Widtsoe taught that Jesus is not only the brother of Jesus, but his "elder brother." Exact quote:
"The story of Lucifer is the most terrible example of such apostasy. ... He pitted his own plan and will against the purposes of God. He strove to gain the birthright of his Elder Brother, Jesus the Christ." (Evidences and Reconciliations, p. 209)
At the time Quinn wrote his book (early to mid 80s), he was a BYU prof. Or doesn't what BYU teaches serve as an extension of what the LDS head haunchos believe? Or is it that every word spoken in a BYU classroom or written by a BYU prof goes through the underground filter system at SLC HQ, thereby LDS-proofing it?
You can excuse us for not knowing that every utterance has to be officially branded with the lds.org insignia before being waved into the public airspace as genu-ine, authenticated, endorsed, confirmed, and inspected Mormonese.