Posted on 04/21/2008 7:29:14 AM PDT by JRochelle
SAN ANGELO, Texas Shortly after the raid began on the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch, a group of Mormon missionaries sat down to eat at a restaurant here. A man shouted out "compound!"
"There was this guy. He held up a knife and yelled at us," said Elder Tyler Duffy from Orem.
Some of the fallout from the raid on the YFZ Ranch is being felt by members and missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While the FLDS Church is not connected in any way to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, some Mormon faithful have said they feel they are being found guilty by association.
"There are some people here that believe anything bad about Mormons and that's what they're going to do," said Charles L. Webb, who serves as president of the Abilene, Texas, stake.
The LDS Church's presence in this part of Texas is small. The Abilene stake covers an area 25,000 square miles in size with about 3,000 members. There are only two LDS chapels in San Angelo, but a number of Baptist and other evangelical Christian churches. It's the polar opposite of Utah, where the LDS Church is the dominant faith.
In repeated statements, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have differentiated between the two faiths and expressed disappointment that some news media outlets have lumped the two together.
"Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often called Mormons, do not practice polygamy and they have not practiced polygamy for over a century," Elder Quentin L. Cook, an LDS apostle, said in a video clip the church recently posted on YouTube. The LDS Church has said there is no such thing as a "fundamentalist Mormon," although an estimated 37,000 people who practice it consider themselves as such. Fundamentalists argue that the LDS Church has strayed from its original doctrine by abandoning the practice of polygamy in 1890.
Here in the Bible belt, many LDS members have had to explain the differences in their faiths the practice of polygamy being the chief example.
Clinton Hudson, a student at Sonora High School, is a member of a Christian student fellowship. During a lunchtime meeting, he said one student said they should pray for the children taken in the raid. Another student said they should "pray for the Mormons."
"I approached her and said, 'They're not Mormons. They're fundamentalists. They broke off from the church' and described our history and how they broke off. It really helped a lot," Hudson said Sunday. "It was a great opportunity to get them to understand there's a difference between them and us."
Not everyone is interested in hearing their explanations.
Duffy said he was speaking with a man interested in converting to the LDS Church. After the raid, the man gave them back a copy of the Book of Mormon, saying he did not want to hear from them again.
"He didn't even give us time to explain," Duffy said.
As they go door-to-door, the missionaries have had to alter their introductions a little to clarify the differences between the two faiths.
"We're not from the church in Eldorado, but we share this message," said Elder Nicolas Librandi, from Murray.
Some have lashed out at the missionaries, blaming polygamy and allegations of child-bride marriages on the LDS Church. But some say there is more interest in the mainstream church, and its message.
"The purposes of God won't be frustrated," said Elder Ryan Bartley, from Carmichael, Calif.
Webb said he has discouraged members from helping out in the name of the LDS Church to avoid confusion between the two faiths, but said they should offer their services as individuals. The local Baptist congregations have contracts to provide relief services in disaster situations.
San Angelo 2nd Ward Bishop Jeffrey Bushman was contacted by a chaplain helping the FLDS women when they were being housed at Fort Concho. The women had requested copies of the Book of Mormon.
He sent them some copies.
"They didn't have anything or bring anything with them, I guess, and they wanted some scriptures and they asked for the Book of Mormon," Bushman said. "I didn't mind. We don't ever mind giving out (copies of the) Book of Mormon to people."
But you still cannot meet my challenge to produce a single piece of archeological evidence for the existence of Moses. Or, for that matter, Jesus.
Well, it’s your standard, let’s see the evidence!
Not any?
Well, must be some faith in there somewhere.
To date, the critics have been unable to explain how so much of First Nephi has become so plausible in recent years. Showing a 1780 map in Europe that has the name Nehem in Arabia does very little to explain the accuracy of Nephi's journey as described in the Book of Mormon. It does not explain the accurate description of places that our critics have long claimed did not even exist, such as the River Laman and the Valley Lemuel or the place Bountiful. It does not explain the plausibility of details such as the place Shazer or the accurate route that includes a plausible due-east turn at Nahom that bypasses the empty quarter and provides a plausible route to Bountiful. Issues that they raised to discredit the Book of Mormon have now become some of the most impressive evidences supporting the authenticity of the text.From Nahom in Arabia: Responding to Critics Here is one more "Mormon study" for you to dismiss Arabia and The Book of Mormon
The nation of Israel
The Christian Church
Wow! You failed again!
got milk?
Too bad they CAN’T HAVE IT.
:)
Third cup.....mmmmmmmm
I don’t drink it but you go right ahead.
I’m already onto ice tea. and at 5pm I’ll indulge in a few beers.
I stay away from the barley pops, messes with my fine figure.
Nice try, mormon, but I’m not angry with you. Far from it. But you show your cult’s tendency to mischaracterize scripture is ingrained even in lawyers who are mormons. BTW, try reading Matthew 19 without the ‘divorce’ word in it, as if there is no way a first marriage could be anulled. Do you see why we’ve told you that Jesus taught that more than one wife, unless ‘legally’ the first wife was set aside IS ADULTERY?... Apparently, sadly, you can’t afford to see the truth that more than one wife is adultery (not polygamy, adultery), it would blow your cult into the dustbin it’s headed for.
Now you’ve done it! ... I outta here, off to Starbucks for a large ‘vente’.
Sure, try to blame me......
It’s YOUR fault
:)
this particular wallow is getting tiresome. Im off to do something more interesting.
_________________________________________
Yeah, you go right ahead and read The Bible
:)
“San Angelo 2nd Ward Bishop Jeffrey Bushman was contacted by a chaplain helping the FLDS women when they were being housed at Fort Concho. The women had requested copies of the Book of Mormon.
He sent them some copies.”
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