Posted on 11/19/2007 3:22:11 PM PST by Zakeet
Oddly you won’t find people here defending such actions.
Yet you and your fellow believers will defend to the death the scandalous and evil men who convinced their followers (and even 14 year old girls) that adultery and fornication were ordered by God.
Spare us you sanctimony.
Let's stop this spin right now.
Any disagreement with Mormons is labeled "bashing."
Regarding this particular church scandal (and it is a scandal) I don't believe this church is Mormon at all, but Christian.
We all fall, and Jesus picks us up if we confess our sins and have a heart of contrition.
I was at a small group gathering of Christians last night, and we discussed admonishment of those who sin.
There was a story about a church elder who was married and had six young children. He decided to leave his family for another woman. When another elder came to the house, the wife and children were sitting on the floor crying, and the husband had been drinking. The other man took him into another room to talk to him, but he wouldn't listen. So, he left and decided to confront him at his business - which he did. Well, the man who was leaving his wife tried to turn the tables, and to blame others for what he was doing.
About six months later, the man had come to his senses. Upon seeing his brother in Christ who confronted him, he hugged him and said "Thank you for not letting go of me!"
Blessed are those who don't hate the Lord's discipline.
Colossians 1:28 We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.
Colossians 3:16 - Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
1 Thessalonians 5:12 - Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you.
I don't know all the fact, but if a church goes from 10,000 member to a fraction of that, it has SERIOUS problems.
________________________________________________________________________
At its peak in the early 1990s, it claimed about 10,000 members and 24 pastors and was a media powerhouse. By soliciting tithes of 10 percent from each member's income, the church was able to build a Bible college, two schools, a worldwide TV ministry and a $12 million sanctuary the size of a fortress.
Today, though, membership is down to about 1,500, the church has 18 pastors, most of them volunteers, and the Bible college and TV ministry have shuttered -- a downturn blamed largely on complaints about the alleged sexual transgressions of the elder Paulks.
In 1992, a church member claimed she was pressured into a sexual relationship with Don Paulk. Other women also claimed they had been coerced into sex with Earl Paulk and other members of the church's administration.
The church countered with a $24 million libel suit against seven former church members. The lawsuit was later dropped.
Jan Royston, who left the church in 1992, started an online support group for former members to discuss their crushed faith and hurt feelings.
"This is a cult. And you escape from a cult," she said. "We all escaped."
That's entirely understandable...80-90 year old men aren't prone to much scandalous behavior, it's hard enough for them to make it to the dinner table.
Yes but Jesus is the son of God and christians have no use for false prophets like Joseph Smith. Infidelity can be forgiven. Leading people astray with a false religion—not so much.
+1...by the way, I’m a prophet and God told me that Joseph Smith was not a prophet. I got just as much authority as he does to make the claim.
Sounds logical.
Just another scumbag looking for money in the name of God.
Point taken.
An alternative viewpoint: Free will increases the risk of this sort of think happening to some individuals. Tight control drastically reduces that risk.
Christianity is a religion of free will, and accepts those risks from a Biblical perspective. The individual members are given enough freedom to prove their character rather than be kept in check by tightly enforced rules. And the continual failures demonstrate the Bibles perspective that none are righteous outside of His saving grace.
>>Yet you and your fellow believers will defend to the death the scandalous and evil men who convinced their followers (and even 14 year old girls) that adultery and fornication were ordered by God.<<
To whom do you refer. I have not seen anyone defend those men.
Go read some of the threads where polygamy comes up. Yes Joseph Smith and all the pervs who practiced polygamy are defended to the hilt. You see they believe it was ordered by God. To sleep with other mens' wives. To seduce and have a sham marriage with 14 year old girls. Warren Jeffs is supposed to be sentenced in Utah today. He just acted like the original founders of the Mormon church. Yet mormons are all too willing to throw Warren under the perverbial bus. Not that I mind that mind you.
Sorry, I had interpretted the post exactly backwards.
More ammo for the religion bigots.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.