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Criticism is all well and good and frequently necessary but the spirit in which it is offered is a key factor.

Agreed.

However, when criticism is offered in anger and hate, it is a very different animal.

Agreed. And if anyone will provide me with an example where I have done this, intentionally or otherwise, I will promptly apologize to the injured parties.

Our Lord went through far worse than any of us will ever experience, are we greater than he that we can get so worked up about doctrinal differences? Shouldn’t we follow His example?

Our Lord "got worked up over doctrinal differences" many times, and was never bashful about speaking out (e.g. Matt. 23:27). And we are commanded to be wary of and confront false doctrine (e.g. Matt 7:15; 24:24, Rom16:17, 1Ti 1:3-10, 4:6-16, etc.)

Now, recall that Joseph Smith was a "prophet" who taught:

That Jesus and Satan are brothers
That God had incestuous sexual relations with His daughter, Mary, impregnating her with Jesus
That Christian pastors are "dimwitted hirelings of Satan"
Of sacred scriptures based on pagan works such as prayers to Egyptian gods for dead spirits – which were supposedly translated using occult devices such as peep stones
That God is a polygamous celestial stud married to our Heavenly Mother, whose name is so sacred we are not to say it out loud
Of Kolob and of other worlds named Planet Oblish and Planet Enish-go-on-dosh ruled by a governing power through the medium of Kli-flos-is-es, or Hah-ko-kau-beam
Of prominent display of Satanic symbols such as pentagrams, baphomets, earth stones, and saturn stones on his churches' religious buildings and literature
Of portraying Satan as the god of this world and having him teach church doctrine in the Mormon temple ceremony
Of the wearing a fig leaf apron in temple ceremonies to symbolize Satan’s power and priesthoods
Of offering prayers to the devil in the temple ceremony – Oh God, hear the words of my mouth – and of praising him in the sacred rites by chanting Hebrew words whose translation is Marvelous Lucifer
That husbands can resurrect their wives from the grave
Of having special grips and clasps in order to tell ghosts from angels and the devil
Of practicing baptism for the dead
Of wearing magic underwear to protect from physical harm – with symbols so sacred that they must be cut out and buried and the garment burned when it wears out
That the Ten Lost Tribes and the apostle John will be discovered living in cement houses in a tropical land adjacent to the North Pole separated by a high mountain range
That men about six feet tall, dressed like Quakers, will be discovered dwelling on the moon where they live for about 1,000 years
That science will prove the earth has knobs on each end
That he was commanded by God to retranslate the Bible because the existing translations contained errors – eventually devising an Inspired Revision completed in 1833 – which was rejected by his church who still uses the King James Version
That his followers are not saved by grace, but instead are burdened by a complex series of rules and regulations which determine their progression as gods of their own planets and the ultimate size and quality of their harem of goddess wives
That he was greater than Jesus

Is is not Biblically correct to confront people who espouse such terrible blasphemies and heresies, to point out their errors, and demand they cease making the ridiculous claim that "we're Christians just like you?" Wouldn't our Lord Jesus do the same?

Oh come on now. Remember we have been warned not to use ldsers words to show what ldsers believe. /sarc/

When did Christ teach His Gospel through confrontation? Even when He threw out the money-changers in the temple, he didn’t just denounce them but then explained why He did it. When the Pharisees and the Sadduccees tried to trip up the Savior with their questions, what was His usual response? He cited the scriptures and explained the point of doctrine in question. He didn’t lay into them with anger, heavy sarcasm and ridicule. At the heart of the Gospel is Christ’s love and confrontation and argument are incompatible with that love.

I think that a large part of the problem (here on FR, anyway) is having a religious discussion on what is, for the most part, a political website. Politics is confrontational. Politics is meant to be confrontational. Unfortunately, religion has been confrontational in the past, it is now and will likely be so in the future. But is was not meant to be that way. That people should be angry with those who do not agree with them is not consistent with Christ’s teachings as most Christians know them.

I’m sorry that our attempts at finding common ground with traditional Christianity is so offensive to some. It was not intended that way. For my part, I have no problem stating that I am not a “Christian just like you.”

Agreed. And if anyone will provide me with an example where I have done this, intentionally or otherwise, I will promptly apologize to the injured parties.

Gentile: you just don't get it!

WE don't have to give any evidence; for WE always tell the TRUTH so...

When WE say YOU have LIED - YOU have.

When WE say YOU have been obnoxious - YOU have.

When WE say YOU have misrepresented our teachings - YOU have.

EVERYone reading these threads know THIS.

WE are very forgiving, and if you wish to learn of the Restored Gospel®, WE would be happy to send a coupkle of our highly trained missionaries to your home to instruct you.

--MormonDude(we truly love you)