Posted on 12/08/2007 11:30:00 AM PST by sevenbak
After Thursdays speech by Romney on 'Faith in America', I thought I would share what he did not, nor should he have. This is what he believes about Jesus Christ. It's the statement by the leaders proclaimed to the world at the turn of the millennium, in January 2000.
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The Living Christ: The testimony of the Apostles of the LDS Church.
As we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ two millennia ago, we offer our testimony of the reality of His matchless life and the infinite virtue of His great atoning sacrifice. None other has had so profound an influence upon all who have lived and will yet live upon the earth.
He was the Great Jehovah of the Old Testament, the Messiah of the New. Under the direction of His Father, He was the creator of the earth. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made (John 1:3). Though sinless, He was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. He went about doing good (Acts 10:38), yet was despised for it. His gospel was a message of peace and goodwill. He entreated all to follow His example. He walked the roads of Palestine, healing the sick, causing the blind to see, and raising the dead. He taught the truths of eternity, the reality of our premortal existence, the purpose of our life on earth, and the potential for the sons and daughters of God in the life to come.
He instituted the sacrament as a reminder of His great atoning sacrifice. He was arrested and condemned on spurious charges, convicted to satisfy a mob, and sentenced to die on Calvarys cross. He gave His life to atone for the sins of all mankind. His was a great vicarious gift in behalf of all who would ever live upon the earth.
We solemnly testify that His life, which is central to all human history, neither began in Bethlehem nor concluded on Calvary. He was the Firstborn of the Father, the Only Begotten Son in the flesh, the Redeemer of the world.
He rose from the grave to become the firstfruits of them that slept (1 Corinthians 15:20). As Risen Lord, He visited among those He had loved in life. He also ministered among His other sheep (John 10:16) in ancient America. In the modern world, He and His Father appeared to the boy Joseph Smith, ushering in the long-promised dispensation of the fulness of times (Ephesians 1:10).
Of the Living Christ, the Prophet Joseph wrote: His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying:
I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father (D&C 110:34).
Of Him the Prophet also declared: And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!
For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father
That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God (D&C 76:2224).
We declare in words of solemnity that His priesthood and His Church have been restored upon the earthbuilt upon the foundation of apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone (Ephesians 2:20).
We testify that He will someday return to earth. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together (Isaiah 40:5). He will rule as King of Kings and reign as Lord of Lords, and every knee shall bend and every tongue shall speak in worship before Him. Each of us will stand to be judged of Him according to our works and the desires of our hearts.
We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostlesthat Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.
Polygamy is not winked upon in the state of Utah. There are no Mormons who practice polygamy, if one does, excommunication immediately follows. We can't even have sympathies or connections with any polygamous group.
Someone said once...(and I'm sure you know, or should know, who) that "Faith...without works...is dead."
Sounds to me that works are kinda important.
But you know that I don't have the Supreme Knowledge that all of you LDS haters have.
Funny how all of you are so full of hate. Guess you forgot the 2 Greatest Commandment's....as expressed by the One you supposedly follow.
redrock
p.s. The concept of the Trinity, as promoted by the Council of Nicea and a pagan Constintine(sort of like 3-in-one oil) was a concept the Early Christians (say the first 300 years after Christ) did NOT believe in. It does not even fit into Jewish Traditions...but it DOES fit neatly into Greek and Roman religious views.
Suggest you do the same:
Christ was begotten by an Immortal Father in the same way that mortal men are begotten by mortal fathers
My children are begotten by me, they are my children, but they were not conceived like normal children. Doesn’t make them different of not of my blood, or lineage.
Let me ask you a question. Do you believe that Christ is literally the son of God, having a mortal mother and an immortal father? If so, and God is His father, how do you reckon Mary Got pregnant? I take the scripture at their word when they say she was overshadowed by the Holy Ghost. We simply don’t know what happened, nor should we care, nor should we use speculation by non-doctrine sources in an effort to belittle another faith in the reality that Jesus Christ is the literal Son of God.
MHGinTN, it's been awhile, how are your holidays going?
Surely you must be referring to the “other gospel” that was preached by the Emperor Constantine about 350 years after these words were written?
LOL
A more likely scenario is an erroneous understanding of Galations 1:6-9. We should examine this scripture closely and determine who was writing to whom, when, and why.
Paul was writing to the Galatians to warn them about what he perceived as a growing problem within the Church itself. People had entered his flock, attempting to mislead it by preaching another gospel, a perverted one, different from the one that Paul himself had preached to these Gentiles who had just joined the Church.
Who were these people? Were these pagans or some other brand of non-Christians preaching a perverted gospel? It was neither. In fact, they were fellow Christians from the Church at Jerusalem who were trying to solve what they saw as a growing problem among the non Jewish converts. The brethren from Jerusalem wanted all male converts, Jewish and Gentiles alike, to comply with the requirement of circumcision and to make a commitment to keep the Law of Moses.
Earlier, Paul had been upset when Peter entered Paul’s mission field teaching “another gospel” — a gospel of circumcision, while Paul advocated the gospel of uncircumcision (Gal. 2:7). It was Peter who received the vision to widen the ministry to all people, including the Gentiles. This was a marked change from the ministry of Christ, who took his message only to the House of Israel. Yet Peter still wasn’t convinced, as evidenced in Galatians 2, that there should be full fellowship with the uncircumcised Christians. Paul therefore referred to what Peter was teaching as another gospeI—the gospel of circumcision.
Students of the Bible know that circumcision was a divisive issue in the New Testament church for many years, even after Peter’s vision of the “unclean” animals when he was told “what God hath cleansed, that call not thou common” (Acts 10:15-35). This controversy over the gospel of circumcision (Gal. 2:7) caused so much of a disruption in the church that the Apostles once gathered in Jerusalem to resolve the issue and to determine and write their unified position (Acts 15).
But back to Galatians—Paul was upset with Peter, who had been dining with the Gentile Christians until some of the Jewish Christians came into the area. Peter then separated himself from the Gentiles, which was so upsetting to Paul that he “withstood him to the face,” or in other words, discussed it openly with Peter at Antioch (Gal. 2:11).
Paul continued to be angered by Peter and certain others who were still preaching the gospel of circumcision to the uncircumcised Gentile Christians. Noted Christian theologian F. F. Bruce adds his comments on the issue Paul was addressing in Galatians chapters 1 and 2:
If God’s redeeming grace was to be received by faith, and not by conformity with the Law of Moses, then it was available on equal terms to Jew and Gentile and to make a distinction in practice between Jewish and Gentile believers, as Peter and the others were doing, was in practice to deny the gospel
Galatians 1:6-9 has to do with a specific doctrinal problem confronting the early Christians. To apply this scripture to any other doctrine with which detractors disagree is to wrest the scriptures.
The Jews don’t see Christ as their Messiah.
Mormons don’t recognize the Trinity. They see Christ as a person that ACHIEVED godhood ... and you can too if you lead a good life ... and for guys they’ll get a “planet” loaded with “virgins” ... .
I would NEVER trust a man that believed in THAT nonsense for my President! Also his liberal flip-flops are embarrassing.
No, Mormonism is NOT Christian - and NO the Bible is just fine as it is ... polygamy was NEVER advocated by God as your false prophet Joseph Smith proclaimed as he was going through the raging hormone years .... . Mormoism is not Christian and never has been. If you want to believe Mormonism is Christian, then believe pigs fly too!
FR can be like a moth to the flame sometimes. I try to stay away, and am pulled back by some unseen force. My daily postings are long gone, at least until after the new year.
As for Galations 1, I wish I could take credit for all of that treatise, but the charges are not unique, they are always the same, and have been rebuffed time and again by many people. These are just some thoughts I’ve collected and added to that confront the “other gospel” accusation head on.
The detractors of our faith are so sure that because an angel appeared to Joseph Smith, it’s a demonic fulfillment of Galations 1. A gospel that doesn’t believe in the ministering of angels has no respect for the history of God's dealing with his children. I would remind those who think this way to look at the prophesies of John about the last days:
Revelation 14:6
And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.
I would ask those detractors, why is this angel preaching the gospel necessary if it’s already on the earth in it’s fullness?
Delphi, I'm off again, thanks for fighting the good fight!
Too bad.
Having lived in Utah for all these years I find the LDS to be good people with a love of this Nation that is awesome.
You on the other hand need to either change your medication or change the dosage as you are NOT in touch with reality.
redrock
p.s.....and I'm still not LDS but come from a long line of Catholics...Baptists...and a few Jews.
Other than Mormon what other faiths are viewed as in error? I mean surely it can’t be just the Mormons. I know there are some on fr that detest the Catholic faith. So how many other faiths are in error?
We are a peculiar people. Thank you.
Peculiarily, duped people because you ignor the facts.
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