Posted on 05/27/2008 10:29:48 AM PDT by ChurtleDawg
Reading all of these threads about Mormonism, I am utterly confused about what Mormonism is, exactly. What is all of this stuff about Jews coming to America in 600 BC? What is the Book of Abraham and why is Abraham writing in Egyptian Hieroglyphs? What does the book of Mormon? What is the storyline of it?
I am confused as to what all of the Mormon writings are about, and how it is all put together theologically.
Please explain.
LDS
RLDS (Reformed, Kansas City))
FLDS (Fundamentalist, Texas?)
Pardon me, I was too quick on that one.
RLDS is “Reorganized” LDS, Kansas City
OK, we are up to 4!
LDS
RLDS (Reformed, Kansas City))
FLDS (Fundamentalist, Texas?)
United Latter-day Church of Jesus Christ (Davis County Utah)
See, I was polite and pinged you when I mentioned your name.
Court finding- The court granted a preliminary injunction for the plaintiff...
Nice a "Christian" site, which likes to break the law, is an objective source for Mormonism. /sarc
nice a religion that has to sue in order to keep secrets...lol
Wikepedia is now being sued by the LDS Church for the very same infraction. Oh boy!
Very good!
We can be nice if we want! ;^)
Class action AGAINST the Cabal may be in YOUR future!
Wiki- Jerald and Sandra Tanner.
Criticism of the Tanners
Lawrence Foster, a non-Mormon historian who has researched and written about the church, has stated that until the Tanners "are prepared to abide by accepted standards of scholarly behavior and common courtesy, they can expect little sympathy from serious historians". He has also accused them of assuming "a holier-than-thou stance, refusing to be fair in applying the same debate standard of absolute rectitude which they demand of Mormonism to their own actions, writings, and beliefs. ... The Tanners seem to be playing a skilful shell game in which the premises for judgment are conveniently shifted so that the conclusion is always the same—negative." [3]
Despite these criticisms, Foster also says that some of the Tanners' "research and analysis ... would do credit to any professional historian" [4] and credits them for being "more than simply gadflies; in curious and often indirect ways, their work has also been a factor helping to stimulate serious Mormon historical writing".
Foster has also praised Jerald Tanner for his "fierce opposition to Mormon racism" and notes:
Some scholars have also, at least in private, been very pleased that the Tanners have made available hard-to-find printed works from early LDS history... even those scholars who are most critical of the Tanners and their methods have profited, at least indirectly, because the Tanners' allegations have spurred them to begin their own investigations into vital and still incompletely understood topics.... Jerald and Sandra Tanner have functioned with regard to Mormonism in much the same way that Ralph Nader has functioned with regard to American business.... The Tanners have prodded the church to begin, however haltingly and imperfectly, to develop a more realistic sense of itself. I would imagine, for example, that much of the flowering of Mormon historical studies in the 1970s, which has helped to give at least some Mormons a richer and more vital knowledge of their own heritage, has been more than tangentially related to the desire of Latter-day Saint historians to prove the Tanners wrong by showing that a full and honest history of the Latter-day Saints can indeed be written. Much like the irritating grain of sand in the oyster, the result has been a pearl." [5]
Michael Quinn, a historian and former member of the Mormon Church, also takes issue with the Tanners' work. He noted that, "although the most conscientious and honest researcher can overlook pertinent sources of information, the repeated omissions of evidence by the Tanners suggest an intentional avoidance of sources that modify or refute their caustic interpretation of Mormon history." [6]
[edit] Tanners challenge extreme anti-Mormonism On occasion, the Tanners have publicly challenged irresponsible critics of Mormonism.
The Tanners were among the first public critics of forger (and later, murderer) Mark Hofmann. Though Hofmann's "discoveries" of important Mormon documents often appeared to bolster the Tanners' own arguments, Jerald Tanner had, by early 1984, concluded there was significant doubt as to the Salamander Letter's authenticity, and "to the astonishment of a community of scholars, historians and students, published an attack on the so-called Salamander Letter".[7] By late 1984, Jerald Tanner questioned the authenticity of most if not all of Hofmann's "discoveries" based in large part on their unproved provenance. (The Tanners concur with Hofmann, however, in contending that the LDS church's apparent inability to discern the forged documents is evidence against church leadership being divinely inspired.)
The Tanners have also debunked false claims circulated by Christian evangelist Ed Decker in his support of the misrepresentations of the LDS Church found in films such as The God Makers. [8] [9].
You didn’t provide a link, and I see the injunction is “prelimnary”. You posted no evidence of “law breaking”. It’s probably something like an injunction for posting LDS Church manuals for the public to see or something like that.
SHhhhhh....we’re a cabal - it’s secret. Don’t let anyone know about us.
That doesn't impune the information on their site, it confirms it.
Mormons complaining because UTL displayed their secret church manuals
CBN recently did an article on 6 Evangelical ministires that are refusing (and rightly so) to turn over more documentation in an unconstitutional Senate investigation by Sen. Grassely. They had complied with IRS and provided documentation required by law but he has insisted on more which they are not turning over.
......Senator Grassley's office issued a statement which said the ministries response has fallen "far short," and that while lines of communications are open, "additional steps in the congressional review" also would be considered.
I noted wiki and the article title.
If you have trouble finding "wikipedia" in the internet age I'm not sure I can help you much. You might actually have to type in a search term instead of pointing and clicking. Oh the horror.
Is the LDS one of them? They should be next. No one has ever, ever, ever seen an accounting of its finances, including the $2,000,000,000.00 (that’s two BILLION dollar) shopping mall that the LDS Church is building in downtown SLC.
These megachurches with their megasecret money should be investigated if they wish to retain their tax-exempt status. It’s about time!
Case was decided in 1999. The Tanners removed the material from their site so have complied with the law.
Yeah, there’s this too - ya gotta wonder just what is so darned secretive about a church manual.
Mormon Church Sues Wikileaks
The Mormon church is suing Wikileaks to take down illicits PDFs of its Church Handbook of Instruction.
Wikimedia Foundation has received a copyright infringement claim from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon Church or LDS Church. The infringement claim is in reference to a URL used as a source in a Wikinews article about Mormon Church documents leaked to the website , titled “Copy of handbook for leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints obtained by Wikinews”. The URL was originally cited as a link in the sources subsection of the article. The Wikimedia Foundation is a donor-supported non-profit organization which runs Wikipedia and Wikinews. This is the first time that the Wikimedia Foundation has received a copyright infringement claim regarding an article published by Wikinews.
The Wikinews article, originally published on April 19, described material in the Church Handbook of Instructions. The work is a two-volume book of policies and is a guide for leaders of the Mormon Church. Wikinews obtained the Church Handbook of Instructions from Wikileaks, a whistleblower website which publishes anonymous submissions of sensitive documents while preserving the anonymity of its contributors. Wikileaks describes the material as significant because “...the book is strictly confidential among the Mormon (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, aka LDS in short form) bishops and stake presidents and it reveals the procedure of handling confidential matters related to tithing payment, excommunication, baptism and doctrine teaching (indoctrination).”
The LDS church has threatened legal action other organizations who have attempted to make the handbook available on the Internet. The threat has been sufficient in all cases. Purely as a matter of copyright law, the church would seem to have a good case.
Now your sounding like a Lib complaining about Oil companies and their profits. All emotion and no facts.
They comply with the law, pay required taxes, and hire outside (non-Mormon) auditors, with very good reputations for honesty in the business world.
>> From wiki - Criticisms of Mormonism (& Finances of teh Church of Jesus Christ of ALatter Day Saints) ...the church engages a public accounting firm (currently Deloitte & Touche in the United States; PricewaterhouseCoopers in the United Kingdom) to perform annual audits of its not-for-profit,[128] for-profit,[129] and educational[130][131] entities. ...Although the church is a tax-exempt organization, its for-profit entities generate "unrelated business income" that is subject to federal, state, and local income and other taxes.
Your not just one of those liberal populists that is ticked off the church and oil companies are richer than you are you?
Oh I don’t see a problem with non-profits (or in the case of the LDS Church, non-prophets) and tax exempt status at all. I simply think that if a religion wishes to claim a tax-exempt status, they they should file a financial report detailing where their money goes. Otherwise they should pay taxes. It is only fair.
I think the oil companies should make as much money as the market allows, and pay taxes on their profits.
You got any other straw men you want burned down?
What part of breaking the law do you agree with? Though I have noted some anti-Capitalist tendencies in some of your past posts. Who knew you were a populist and anarchist at heart? The ultimate conservative bastion which we are posting on follows copyright laws as well. You aren't going to start cirticising FR for following the law now are you?
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