Posted on 12/28/2009 11:26:45 AM PST by urroner
For the sake of a discussion, let's assume that I am a brand new neighbor of yours. We have only met each other in passing. You play the part of the Christian and I will play the part of the agnostic. (BTW, none of the below is true about me. Upfront, I am Mormon, but I have tried to get into this discussion on this forum for some time, but haven't been able to do so.)
(I also realize that there are some of you who are more than eager to post anti-Mormon material on this thread and I request that you don't do so. I don't even want Mormonism mentioned in this thread beyond this point.)
Let's assume that I'm out trimming the hedges between your house and mine and that you are working in a garden close to the hedges.
My wife and three kids, ages 3, 8, and 13, are all out with me. My wife keeps telling me I need to paint the house before it gets colder, my younger children are throwing little rocks at me to get my attention and laughing and giggling, and the oldest is pestering me about buying her a cellphone and about the promise I made a year ago about letting her pierce her ears for earrings.
In a calm moment, my wife and I get into a neighborly chat, well would be my wife, I'm a science/math teacher at the local community college and it's very hard for me to just sit down and chitchat and you tell us you are Christian.
My wife tells you she is a Christian also, but doesn't go to any denomination and hasn't been to church in several years, since marrying me, but that I am always peppering her with questions that she doesn't know the answers to. She says that one of the reasons she has stopped going to church is because she likes to spend Sundays with me since we don't get a lot of lone time together. I spend a lot of time helping students at the college and when I'm home, I have to spend a lot of time with the kids. We do have a date night every week, but that's just not enough.
She also says that she is also tired of seeing so much hypocrisy among the church members and the preacher is always asking for money, that she had decided to stop going. She says that her preacher, when she was little, told her she was saved as did her parents, so her salvation was guaranteed.
You see me roll my eyes when my wife says that.
I tell you that I really don't go to any denomination, but I have read the Bible, the Koran, the Tao Te Ching, the Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, some of the writings of Marx, and some New Age books. I tell you that I don't know what the right way is or even if there is a right way?
I tell you that I tend toward Uniterianism, but Buddhism has some attraction to me also, but it's a little too esoteric for me. I tell you that I also have some problems with life after death, reincarnation, or any supernatural miracles.
I tell you my parents were Catholics before they died, but they died when I was very young and I have been to church only a couple of times since their funeral, but the people who adopted me were strong agnostics and never directed me to follow any particular path. I'm thinking about going back to the RCC, but haven't made any decision yet.
You realize that I am fairly knowledgeable of the Bible when it comes to knowing where what is, but you realize that I don't interpret them at all as you do. In fact, I have a very shallow understanding of them. I think the Bible is good literature and can help a person do a lot of good in this life, but I don't know anything about being saved and what that means.
I ask you what you believe and how I can find the happiness and joy you have in your life.
What are you going to say or do?
Always nice to see mormons shooting while they are retreating posthaste.
Nothing new here.........
You said:
Not sure what the point of your post is; I certainly haven’t been yelling at you.
I say:
Did you read all those posts that were ranting and raving at me.
I was just trying to be an agnostic who was looking for truth from a traditional Christian and said that I like to ask lots of questions up front and people complained about me asking too many questions and I wasn’t believing what they were reading me out of the Bible. Then there were those who went on and on about the Mormon church. It was interesting to hear what my agnostic friend/co-worker had to say about their type.
But you aren't an agnostic, you are an ldser or possibly a liar.
So there are Born again Mormons and Born again Christians?
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To the LDS there is no such thing as a “born again Mormon”. The term comes from a ministry led by a guy who became a Born Again Christian while still a member of the LDS. He has since left the LDS.
Check out this site. lots of great info:
www.bornagainmormon.com
Possibly?!? I am going with definitely.
Wow....you read probably the most important book ever..once a year!!
Personally I read that book daily....
Let's see.....daily versus yearly. Ummmmmm......
Wait!! I don't read the BOM and the D & C though....so I guess that's where you spend your time, eh?
I'm just an Okie, urroner..but you don't impress me much.
Translation: I am getting the **** beat out of my argument, so I am taking my toys and going home.
Mormonism has a great deal to fear. It is called the WRATH of God. Mormons will someday be held accountable for bringing God down to their level.
Um...
You are brutal. LOL
I know there is a Moroni and somehow it brings great joy to Mormons when they say Moroni(I admit I don’t know the story or understand)
Did not know there was a character named Mormon and now you have sent me to google once again.....
Durn you!
Agreed.........
According to the storyline BoM, Moroni was Mormon’s son. Mormon “wrote” most of the Book of Mormon.
Moroni was also the angel that delivered the “gold plates” to Joseph Smith that allegedly contained the Book of Mormon.
The TRUTH is what it is..........
Let him who has ears, hear.
God will have to humble him before he has ears.
Reality is kinda knocking on their door too...
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Ummm...Mormons and reality is the same sentence? Only if there is a negative in there as well.
The LDS rely on feelings, not facts. Sad but true.
One has to be great in order to be humble and I am truly humble.
I had to send you that little saying that I heard years ago when I read that post about ears and being humble.
G’evn reaganaut.
BTW, does you name mean that you are a Reagan fan?
Sorry URR......your about as much a Christian as a Muslim.
You've been totally deceived....by the Bernie Madoff of religions.
LDS, Inc...is a business, and a highly successful business it is. Name me a "church" that has the assets of LDS, Inc.
Name me a "church" that has probably over $50 billion in assets? But won't give their membership an accounting.....
I dare you to ask your Bishop to give you an accounting of your stakes income. Let alone the total "numbers" from your state.....
While you are at it.....tell me of any group that calls itself..."Ex-Christians for Christ".
Well isn’t that terrific. My search took me to the Council of Twelve. I half expected to see Arthur mention on this page but I did learn where the word Mormon comes from and what it means.
“The word Mormon was the name of an ancient prophet of God. He lived on the American continent a few hundred years after the advent of Christ. He had at his disposal a continuous religious and historical record of the people who had migrated to, and lived for hundreds of years on, the American continents. Mormon made an abridgment of these records, which contained the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The record was engraved on gold plates and deposited in a hill known as Cumorah, located in what we now know to be the state of New York. In this latter day, under divine direction, Joseph Smith obtained the plates and translated them by the power of God. This abridgment was titled the Book of Mormon. The meaning of the word, as given by Joseph Smith, is ‘more good.’
So that was great, Cumorah was a battle ground where some 230,000 soldiers died in one battle an untold number in another and that civilization was lost.
How is it there are no artifacts of these epic battles? That’s a lot of dead guys and presume they weren’t using Marcus of Queensbury rules. There should be some trace of that, shouldn’t there be?
Why did no Mormon ancestor propagate and grow their nation?
How is the Cherokee were the only tribe found, thus far, to have a written language and an organized codified form of government?
If there were a Mormon tribe what would distinguish them from others? By this I mean, I know the difference between and a North American Indian and a South of the border Indian such as Mayans.
Where is the history explained above that Mormon kept? Is it lost? Why?
Where would the Gold have come from that Mormonism is based upon? Why gold? The Jews only get some stone tablets?
You’ve been totally deceived....by the Bernie Madoff of religions.
While you are at it.....tell me of any group that calls itself...”Ex-Christians for Christ”.
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Chuckle. And very good points.
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