A Mormon's response to posts on "Religious Declaration of Sexual Morality"

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[WingedPaladin]

It is of much relief to me to see not one single name in the list posted here belonging to a leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, otherwise known as the Mormons. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

We firmly believe our leaders receive revelation directly from the Lord Jesus Christ and it is through revelation that our church began. We consider our church to be a restoration of the truths and blessings that were lost during the great apostasy that occurred after the apostles and prophets were killed after they crucified our Lord. Many truths were lost and miracles ceased due to corruption and the lack of faith. The truths and miracles are here again.

If you want to study our beliefs, go to http://www.mormon.org. Many consider our beliefs to be very conservative, but aren't God's laws conservative? We believe in God's laws, and that He gives us laws for our temporal and eternal happiness.

It puzzles me that people label our church as a "cult." What are the grounds for this label? I looked up "cult" on http://dictionary.com and this is what I found:

1. a. A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader.
1. b. The followers of such a religion or sect.
2. A system or community of religious worship and ritual.
3. The formal means of expressing religious reverence; religious ceremony and ritual.
4. A usually nonscientific method or regimen claimed by its originator to have exclusive or exceptional power in curing a particular disease.
5. a. Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing.
5. b. The object of such devotion.
6. An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest.

Definition 3 would include every religion, organized or not, that conducts ceremonies or rituals under the label of "cult." I do not consider my religion to be false nor extremist, though I can understand that those not of my faith may view it as such. We do have a charismatic leaders. They are likeable. I would not consider them authoritarian however as they strongly believe in and support free agency. If we do not agree with their teachings, we are free to leave if we so choose. (I personally love their teachings and having the Prophet and Apostles as leaders, so I choose to stay.) Our church runs by an organized system of stewardship to insure the needs of the members are met. We desire to build Zion, which is a community of equality and peace. We practice healing through blessings by the laying on of hands. Our religion isn't faddish because we stay true to our principles and do not change them according to popular opinion. We are not exclusive as we share our religious beliefs openly with others and invite all to take part in the blessings we enjoy. People may consider us to be exclusive in the sense that we don't let just anyone into our temples. We believe temples to be sacred and holy, and the Lord has instructed us to only allow those who who have been baptized and are living lives according to His commandments into His temple. If members of the church are breaking commandments and not living according to Jesus Christ's teachings, they cannot enter the temple. If you want to enter a temple and partake of the blessings there, be baptized and prepare yourself to enter (this requires an interview with a bishop and stake president to determine personal worthiness), and you are welcome.

There are many names posted belonging to leaders of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We view The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, now known as Community of Christ, not to be of our faith though our origin is the same. Their views and beliefs are not our views and beliefs. Although they are a well-intended people, we do not believe that their church is currently being guided by divine revelation. If this was so, they would not have so dramatically altered their principles from what the founder of the church, Joseph Smith, Jr., taught when he laid the foundation of the church through revelation. We believe God does not change and is the same yesterday, today, and forever. This is why we have prophets, apostles, and temples today just like the saints did anciently. I hope this helps to answer your questions about our church and about our relationship to the Reorganized LDS church.

For other questions regarding The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, visit http://www.mormon.org and http://www.lds.org. Thank you.

[TomSmedley]

See Martha Beck's excellent book Leaving the Saints. Her daddy had a job that could only exist in Utah -- Mormon apologist. And he defended his faith with scholarly tomes buttressed with numerous footnotes -- most of which turn out to be fraudulent.

The national average for sexual abuse of children is 3%. In Utah, that average is around 30%.

[Tax-chick]

Welcome to FR, hon.

[WingedPaladin]

I am from Hawaii. Where do you get your information (on his footnotes being fraudulent) and statistics on child abuse?

[WingedPaladin]

Thank you Tax-chick. :) Aloha!

[TotusTuus]

Welcome to FR!

[connectthedots]

Welcome to Free Republic. Seeing how you are new here, maybe you can answer three questions about your religion; and have it make sense:

1. Was God once a man? Every other Mormon has answered 'yes'.
2. Did God create man? Every other Mormon has answered 'yes'.
3. If God was once a man and god created man, who or what being/force/power created the first man that became the first God; and why is that force/being/power not the one true God?

Up to this point, I have received the same answer or admission from every Mormon who has responded. What's your answer?

[connectthedots]

1. a. A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader.
1. b. The followers of such a religion or sect.

The above definition fits Mormonism.

[truth_seeker]

My father and his brother were raised as Mormons.

My uncle stayed with it; my father did NOT.

Of my uncles three children, one stayed Mormon, two left it.

And none of my father's five children ever became Mormon.

I happen to be a friend of your church, which includes my ancestors dating to the 1840s in England and the US (possibly 1830s).

I like and respect Mormons' lifestyles. (I don't see them on TV like Tammy Fay Baker, begging for money. Or doing Benny Hinn antics)

But many who look at the story have a hard time with the Joseph Smith revelations.

[Tax-chick]

You're welcome. All the Mormons I have known at all well have been nice people.

[connectthedots]

You're welcome. All the Mormons I have known at all well have been nice people.

Some are; some are not nice at all.

[kdot]

...only allow those who who have been baptized and are living lives according to His commandments into His temple.

Question. My family and I are Catholic. If my daughter decides to marry someone from your church and has her wedding in your church, am I barred from attending?

I've heard the answer "yes" before. If so (big "if" because I don't really know), why would I support any interraction between her and your church?

Thanks for your answer.

[Tax-chick]

I'm sure that's true, as it is of people from any religion, or no religion at all. My own experience has been positive ... and I hope that the Mormons I've known would say, "We know some Catholics who are really nice people!"

I know that what they believe cannot be true if what I believe is true ... and of course I'm biased in favor of my own convictions :-). I don't feel it's my calling to address the question, but rather to act as a Christian person toward anyone I meet, irrespective of his religious affiliation. This is not to say that addressing conflicting beliefs is wrong, but simply that it's not where I'm supposed to go, at this point in my life.

[mlmr]

This is an interesting list. I recognize the people from my area and some are connected with real churches. One that I see, however is calling himself a minister of a church that doesn't exist.

[Mr. Jazzy]

Dear Mormon,

Is it true that you believe that God is living right now on a planet called Kolob?

[TomSmedley]

I am from Hawaii. Where do you get your information (on his footnotes being fraudulent) and statistics on child abuse?

From Martha Beck's fascinating book Leaving the Saints. Let me quote directly from her book:

All of this -- the baby-friendly infrastructure of Provo, the exquisite neighborliness of its residents, teh homage I received as part of my genetic heritage -- made the Latter-day Saint community around me seem strangely unreal. I felt as though I were seeing all of it from the cheap seats of a movie theater where some Disney cartoon kingdom was being projected onto the screen. I remember wondering, during those first few days in Utah, whether Walt Disney's Mormon wife helped him dream up all those fairy lands where the houses were sweetly domestic, the people pink-skinned and kind, the commoners respectfully obsessed witht the lives of the aristocracy.

Yet, like Ursula K. LeGuin's classic short story Those who walk away from Omelas, there's a dark side to this cheery picture. Like the way her father cracked under the strain of defending such indefensible things as The Book of Abraham after the original manuscripts came to light, and their real meaning bore zero relationship to J. Smith's free-association fantasy based thereon. Trapped into defending lies in order to support his family, the beleagured man raped his 5 year old daughter, (or so she says, now), as an "Abrahamic sacrifice."

[MHGinTN]

Ever read No Man Knows My Story?

[TomSmedley]

Come to think of it, what this mormon dad did to his daughter is much like what the mormon deity was said to have done to Mary, in order to beget Jesus. Taking time out from diddling his heavenly harem on the planet Kolob.

[TomSmedley]

Not yet, is it good? Martha Beck spoke of how the "memory hole" at Brigham Young University airbrushes every reference to certain people, such as Sonja Johnson, from their research library.

[MHGinTN]

It is quite revealing. That's all I'll post on the topic. Read it!