Posted on 04/26/2007 6:03:35 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
Ask Mark Briscoe, leader of the Howell ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the greatest misconception about the church, and he doesn't have to think very long or hard.
"Sometimes people would say that we're not Christians," he said. "We definitely are. We believe in Jesus Christ."
An Idaho native, Briscoe has been a Mormon his whole life, and said it is painful to have others think that his church is somehow outside the boundaries of Christianity. He said he was a high school student when he first heard the accusation.
"It was a little bit unsettling," he said. "From my earliest memories, we talked about Jesus Christ." In fact, members of the church believe that Jesus' teachings were changed and weakened soon after the apostles died, and that this "apostasy," or falling away from the truth, led to the withdrawal of the true church from the earth.
Mormons believe that was reversed when Joseph Smith, regarded as a prophet, was visited by God and Jesus in a vision in 1820. That's when Smith was chosen to restore the true church to the world, according to LDS doctrine. Smith translated the Book of Mormon, the sacred text of the Latter Day Saints, which is based on the Bible.
The Mormons' refer to this process as the "restoration."
The religion has received increased attention as Mitt Romney's prominence as a presidential candidate has risen. As happened with John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic president, some political observers have questioned whether Romney's Mormonism will hurt his electability, or his conduct as president if he's eventually elected.
Jan Shipps, an expert in the LDS church, a professor emeritus of history and religious studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, and a Methodist, said that concern is overhyped.
She said that, unlike Catholicism, in which a politician can be denied communion for votes in support of abortion rights, for example, the Mormon church does not directly influence its members who happen to be politicians.
A local bishop can exclude a church member from the temple, but that's about it, Shipps said.
"They don't have any official way to control their members, except to say that they can go into or cannot go into the temple," Shipps said.
"I just don't think it's a big deal, but a lot of people think it is because the president of the church is also understood to be a prophet," she said. "But the likelihood that the president of the church would have a revelation that the president has to do this or has to do that is less than zero."
Briscoe agreed with Shipps' assessment that any influence the church would have over members would be at the local level. But even that would not include anything political.
"We never say we're for one candidate or the other," he said. "Our view is that's not proper."
There is some evidence, however, that Romney is getting a lot of support from Mormons — 13 percent of the money he's raised so far, or $2.37 million, has come from the state of Utah, home of the church's headquarters.
Local ties, global reach Briscoe's title is "Bishop," analogous to a pastor, but he doesn't receive a salary from the church. That goes for all other leaders as well. Briscoe works as a powertrain engineer for Ford Motor Co. in Livonia.
"It makes for a very busy life, that's for sure," he said.
The LDS church on West Grand River Avenue in Howell has 400 members; holds services every Sunday; and has youth activities during the week.
One of the hallmarks of the church is the cooperation and support between members.
"A main focus is to provide service to one another," Briscoe said.
Members go in groups of two to visit each other on the weekends for "Home Teaching" sessions, in which they talk about spirituality and life in general, he said.
"Part of it is to see if people need help with anything," he said. "The goal is that nobody feels they don't have someone to call."
The visiting is separated by gender, with males visiting males and females visiting females.
Mormon services are not the raucous or musical affairs that other denominations celebrate.
"'Reverent' is the word we like to use," Briscoe said.
A typical service starts with the sacrament, a hymn and a prayer. Then, church members who Briscoe has spoken with beforehand give talks of about 10 minutes long on a given subject.
Non-Mormons, however, don't often get the chance to witness these services. The church has a reputation for secrecy, but Shipps said it's not just for the sake of exclusion.
"A better way to say it is what goes on in the temple is sacred and therefore private, rather than secret," she said. "All temples are closed to anyone except those who the bishop recommends."
Outreach also is an important part of the Mormon philosophy. Most men do two years of missionary work when they're around 19 years old, and unmarried women do 18 months. One of Briscoe's own sons is in Brazil right now as a missionary.
College age is an ideal time to go abroad as a missionary because it exposes one to the world, yet still gives a person time to start a family. And family, Briscoe said, is a foundational piece of the Mormon church.
"We do believe in families," he said. "We believe a man and a woman should get married and raise a family, so we encourage that."
Briscoe himself was a missionary in Spain: "I learned probably as much from that experience as I did from college."
Mormons also are aware of opportunities to tell friends and other social acquaintances about Mormonism, Briscoe said, and how to approach people is a subject of conversation in the church.
"As life goes on, you get into discussions about your beliefs," he said. "We feel like what we have is so important ... we really feel deeply that what we believe is the truth."
The church has been fairly successful in bringing more people in. There are about 6 million members of the LDS church in United States, and more than that abroad, Shipps said.
Not universally embraced Many of the church's practices have prompted criticism from other religions. Polygamy, the practice of husbands having more than one wife, may be the most enduring stereotype of Mormons. But it hasn't been practiced since 1890 by the church, and is strictly prohibited.
The LDS past practice of baptizing Jewish Holocaust victims after their death drew fierce opposition from Jewish leaders as well.
Shipps said it was done to give non-Mormons the choice in the afterlife of becoming Mormon. That's also why there's such an emphasis in the church on genealogy — so that all one's relatives can be identified and baptized, she said.
Also, black people were denied membership until 1978, when the president of the church at the time had a revelation that they should be included.
Now, Shipps said, the LDS church has made strong inroads into nonwhite areas such as Japan, South Korea and Africa.
"There may be as many people worshipping on Sunday in Spanish-speaking areas than English-speaking," she said.
Theologically, Mormonism is viewed suspiciously by some as well. The Southern Baptist Convention, for example, puts the LDS church in the category of "Cults, Sects and New Religious Movements."
Shipps said the thing that sets Mormonism apart — and ironically draws the ire of both Christians and Jews — is the belief that the church is re-gathering the twelve tribes of Israel.
"It's a very complex and interesting and powerful theology, but for those looking at it from the outside, it seems somewhat strange because it has, in addition to Christian claims, claims to be the restoration of Israel," Shipps said.
Another notable Mormon belief is that the church president is a prophet, and receives the word of God.
"We believe God does talk to man," Briscoe said. "He chooses one prophet at a time."
Regardless of the negativity and criticism they may run into, he said, most Mormons aren't swayed.
"When people say things, we're still confident and confident in what we know to be right," he said.
No, dear. Tell me which chapters God has thrown out and told His Faithful not to read?
God has protected the Bible for millenium. He has the power to ensure that His message is kept intact.
And be it a story about the baby Moses, Elizabeth or Peter, each and every story further shows mankind who our Creator is and what our relationship is to Him.
If you remove the parts that you don’t like, you are inhibiting the next person who really does need to learn about Joshua or Ezekiel.
Because God is the author you can rest assured that every letter and punctuation mark has the sole purpose of bringing Christians into a closer relationship with God.
Without God’s Word in the Holy Bible, each and every word, our communion with him would never be complete.
Oh you earthling the way you describe it, you have foolish imagination
FOTFLMHO
I’ve read those links, but thank you for posting them again.
I have the source I will PM it too you!:)soon
“Interesting, thanks for the clarification. Always good to hear what people actually believe instead of what other people say they believe.”
Thanks for your open mind. So many people join threads like this and decide not to listen to the answers to their challenges. They refuse to “go to the source,” condemning themselves to remain ignorant and bitter.
We Mormons are happy to respectfully answer any question asked in respect.
Christ himself defined who His church was hundreds and hundreds of years before Mormonism came along. And His declarations on that point have not changed. For God’s very nature shows us that He does not change.
Oh you earthling the way you describe it, you have foolish imagination
It's described just as Mormonism teaches.
“The Book of Mormon is claimed to have been translated from documents antedating by thousands of years the King James version of the Bible. Strange that it should so closely resemble it. Well, I guess that proves how miraculous it really was, huh?”
Of course the Book of Mormon is similar to the Bible. How could it not be? Does God teach a different truth to one people than to another? Additionally, as the Book of Mormon states, the ancient Americans had access to a good deal of the Old Testament, and they taught from it. A goodly chunk of Isaiah is quoted in it.
"I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam...Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him, but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet"----History of the Church, vol. 6, p.408-409
Odd that Joseph Smith "translated" Reformed Egyptian(which Egyptian scholars all say did not exist) into King James English that the King James Bible was translated in.
I am not sure what you mean: How has the LDS Church tried to "align with" evangelical Christians or any other group?
We work with other groups (such as Catholic Charities) on humanitarian and charitable work. Is that what you mean?
I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him, but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet"----History of the Church, vol. 6, p.408-409
Yet Jesus said in Matthew 16;
17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
Well Jesus, Joseph Smith says You failed and the gates of hell did prevail against Your Church.
Either Jesus was a false prophet or Joseph Smith was.
I'll stick with Jesus.
“Would I have a problem voting for a candidate who was a member of the LDS Church? No, not even a small one.”
While it tends to be Evangelicals who are the most ardent and blatant exceptions, the Conservative base overwhelmingly agrees with you. I find it comforting that the bigotry against Mormons (and Catholics) is pretty isolated.
The problem with that statement is that even Satan believes in Jesus Christ, though he desires to replace Him.
Mormons also believe that Jesus Christ is Satan's brother (if that is so, how does Jesus Christ claim to be the "Only Begotton Son" of God? The last time I noticed, only means there was/is one period - not two, ten, ten thousand.
It is not enough to belive "in Jesus Christ," it's WHAT you believe about Jesus Christ that either makes you a "Christian" or not.
If you have ever attended a Mormon Sunday worship service, what they state when they serve communion is "I believe the Church is true, etc." Their unique beliefs about Joseph Smith, their relationship to God and their Church, is far more interesting than the fact that they "believe in Jesus Christ."
Why did Joseph Smith create his own translation of the Bible that Mormons recognize by footnotes in the King James Version?
Was it inspired?
“Why did Joseph Smith create his own translation of the Bible that Mormons recognize by footnotes in the King James Version?”
Because he was commanded to. Don’t like it? Then don’t read it; it’s not my lookout.
I’m out of this one. Most of the detractors of the LDS Church in this thread have already made the same tired arguments in other threads; their questions have all been answered ten times over. Their only goal is to smear the LDS Church; it’s their “hobby,” if you will.
I’ve got better things to do with my life than repeat myself to people who refuse to listen.
If you are a person who is genuine in your desire to learn more about the LDS Church, feel free to message me privately. I will answer any questions you may have to the best of my ability.
So it was inspired then, by God?
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