A Latter-day Saint Perspective on Muhammad Mormon-(OPEN)

Ensign Magazine ^ | August, 2000 | James A. Toronto,

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Latter-day Saint Interest in Muhammad

One of the noteworthy examples of the Latter-day Saint commitment to treasure up true principles and cultivate affirmative gratitude is the admiration that Church leaders have expressed over the years for the spiritual contributions of Muhammad.

As early as 1855, at a time when Christian literature generally ridiculed Muhammad as the Antichrist and the archenemy of Western civilization, Elders George A. Smith (1817–75) and Parley P. Pratt (1807–57) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles delivered lengthy sermons demonstrating an accurate and balanced understanding of Islamic history and speaking highly of Muhammad’s leadership. Elder Smith observed that Muhammad was “descended from Abraham and was no doubt raised up by God on purpose” to preach against idolatry. He sympathized with the plight of Muslims, who, like Latter-day Saints, found it difficult “to get an honest history” written about them. Speaking next, Elder Pratt went on to express his admiration for Muhammad’s teachings, asserting that “upon the whole, … [Muslims] have better morals and better institutions than many Christian nations.” 9

Latter-day Saint appreciation of Muhammad’s role in history can also be found in the 1978 First Presidency statement regarding God’s love for all mankind. This declaration specifically mentions Muhammad as one of “the great religious leaders of the world” who received “a portion of God’s light” and affirms that “moral truths were given to [these leaders] by God to enlighten whole nations and to bring a higher level of understanding to individuals.” 10

In recent years, respect for the spiritual legacy of Muhammad and for the religious values of the Islamic community has led to increasing contact and cooperation between Latter-day Saints and Muslims around the world. This is due in part to the presence of Latter-day Saint congregations in areas such as the Levant, North Africa, the Persian Gulf, and Southeast Asia. The Church has sought to respect Islamic laws and traditions that prohibit conversion of Muslims to other faiths by adopting a policy of nonproselyting in Islamic countries of the Middle East. Yet examples of dialogue and cooperation abound, including visits of Muslim dignitaries at Church headquarters in Salt Lake City; Muslim use of Church canning facilities to produce halal (ritually clean) food products; Church humanitarian aid and disaster relief sent to predominantly Muslim areas including Jordan, Kosovo, and Turkey; academic agreements between Brigham Young University and various educational and governmental institutions in the Islamic world; the existence of the Muslim Student Association at BYU; and expanding collaboration between the Church and Islamic organizations to safeguard traditional family values worldwide. 11 The recent initiation of the Islamic Translation Series, cosponsored by BYU and the Church, has resulted in several significant exchanges between Muslim officials and Latter-day Saint Church leaders. A Muslim ambassador to the United Nations predicted that this translation series “will play a positive role in the West’s quest for a better understanding of Islam.” 12

A cabinet minister in Egypt, aware of the common ground shared by Muslims and Latter-day Saints, once remarked to Elder Howard W. Hunter of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles that “if a bridge is ever built between Christianity and Islam it must be built by the Mormon Church.” 13 The examples of Latter-day Saint–Muslim interaction mentioned above, together with the Church’s establishment in 1989 of two major centers for educational and cultural exchange in the Middle East (Jerusalem and Amman), reflect the traditional attitude of respect for Islam that Church leaders have exhibited from earliest times. These activities represent tangible evidence of Latter-day Saint commitment to promote greater understanding of the Muslim world and witness an emerging role for the Church in helping to bridge the gap that has existed historically between Muslims and Christians.

[Godzilla]

can i bring my action figures?

[ejonesie22]

Yeah, I will even let you be Zeus first. I am also going to bring a GI Joe I dressed up as Joe Smith, he can hit on the beach babes while Perseus battles the Kraken...

Though it should be some guy names Lars since the Kraken was actually a Scandinavian legend...

[ejonesie22]

Actually I like it when he shows up. The more errors and arrogance on display the better.

That it is backed with that wacky “Hey if I am really condescending and arrogant and try and act knowledgeable more than anybody maybe folks will buy my cult sales pitch and never notice how off the facts are” approach is a lovely bonus...

The LDSers should take notes, and make him director of the training division.

[1010RD]

Was Isaiah slain for being a false prophet - no

Yes, according to the followers of Baalial

Was Stephen slain for being a false prophet - no

This is a particularly compelling one and I am surprised that you went for it, maybe not that surprised.

Acts is very clear on this.

Stephen was tried by the Sanhedrin for blasphemy against Moses and God as well as speaking against the Temple and the Law (Acts 6:11, 13-14). Ironically, Paul of Tarsus, whips the mob into a fury and they stone him.

Clearly, they believed as did Paul at the time, that Stephen was a false prophet.

Now Resty, this is the kind of ignorance I am talking about. Resty wouldn't know this being LDS and not as familiar with the NT so he'd let you get away with this, but I won't.

Here are the words of Stephen:

Which one of the Prophets did your fathers not persecute, and they killed the ones who prophesied the coming of the Just One, of whom now, too, you have become betrayers and murderers. (Acts 7:52)

Resty, watch the spin on this because it is clear. Plus, no matter what he or the posse say I'll nail them some more.

They don't know what they are talking about. They have a child's rudimentary understanding of the Bible. They ignore or deny what they either don't understand or don't agree with.

As they argue they'll use the Bible, tradition or the opinions of men including several logical fallacies like the ones you've seen posted by Godzilla just now. When their appeal to authority fails they appeal to majority. When that fails they taunt and tease. Their Sturm und Drang amounts to nothing.

So he goes on:

Was Peter slain for being a false prophet -no

Yes, but they were wrong.

Was Paul slain for being a false prophet - no

Yes, but they were wrong.

Was Joseph Smith slain for being a false prophet

Yes, but they were wrong.

Now comes opinion, conjecture or testimony. That is all.

PS this will make them nuts.

[BlueMoose]

ping

[svcw]

JS was shot in the back while trying to escape jail because he destroyed a printing press that told the truth about him. Oh, yes lets not forgot he was in jail and he killed in cold blood two people. Now where just did he get those guns.
He was not martyred.
He either was a liar or delusional depending on which of the nine versions of the vision you chose to go by, he certainly was not a prophet.

[BlueMoose]

ping

[SZonian]

I expected nothing less. Coming from a religion that questions the Bible whole cloth anyway.

When you go to “Bible camp”, do they teach you which parts of the Bible weren’t “translated correctly”?

Taking into account that a mormon must do this (question the verse/Bible) in order to support the “man can become god” doctrine.

[ejonesie22]

Here is another little tid bit that will make it more interesting. I don't think our friend is LDS. He has always been “a tick” coy about his affiliations.

Tomorrow should be fun as he “schools” us poor ignorant wretches. If he shows.

I will have to have my mommy pack my Zeus lunch box early tomorrow's...

[Elsie]

1 Corinthians 11:11 “Neither is the man with without the woman, or the woman without the man, in the Lord”

This is OBVIOUSLY mis-translated!

--MormonDude(Where's the secret name; Groucho?)

[Elsie]

All well and good -except that by my GOD'S definition smith is a false prophet.

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"When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD,

if the thing follow not, nor come to pass,

that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken,

but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously:

thou shalt not be afraid of him"

Deuteronomy 18:22

[Elsie]

 

Accurate enough for God and delivered by him, more than good enough for me and the rest of us concerned about the truth and ties it up rather nicely.

 

 

(One would think a TRUE 'prophet' might have LIVED longer!)

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JESUS: Hey Smith!   Remember that boast you made about doing more than even I had done to hold the 'church' together?

JOSEPH SMITH: Where am I?

JESUS: Don't you remember? A few seconds ago you were in that jail.

JOSEPH SMITH: Oh; yeah; but where am I NOW?

JESUS: Don't you remember? Does bang - bang ring a bell?

JOSEPH SMITH: Oh; yeah - that crummy gun I had was about USELESS!

JESUS: I hope you left instructions on how to hold your church together.

JOSEPH SMITH: Dang! I knew there was SOMETHING I was forgetting!

JESUS: Looks like there's a power struggle going on down there.

JOSEPH SMITH: Yeah; there was always SOMEone who wanted the power that I held - especially over the LADIES - wink wink.

JESUS: No need to worry about that now; remember what my friend Matthew wrote down?

JOSEPH SMITH: This? “At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven” (Matthew 22:30)

JESUS: That's it.

JOSEPH SMITH: I thought that was mistranslated.

JESUS: Nah - it was right.

JOSEPH SMITH: Oh well; it was fun while it lasted. My buds will still get it on with the girls.

JESUS: Uh; I'm sorry; in just a few more years; your followers will cavein to the United States government and abandon the 'Eternal Covenant' that you came up with.

JOSEPH SMITH: ME!? YOU are the one that told me to do that!

JESUS: Sorry; but you must have mistranslated what I told you. What part of Do NOT commit ADULTERY did you not understand?

JOSEPH SMITH: mumble....

JESUS: What did you say?

JOSEPH SMITH: Oh, nothing.

JESUS: Well; it was interesting talking to you; but now I must get back to perparing a place for those who believe in Me.

JOSEPH SMITH: Oh, yeah; the Celestial Kingdom.

JESUS: No...

JOSEPH SMITH: The Telestial one?

JESUS: Nope.

JOSEPH SMITH: SUREly not the TERRESTRIAL one!!

JESUS: Nope. Didn't you read that the mind of man had NOT conceived of it? Paul wrote it down in 1 Corinthians 2:9.

JOSEPH SMITH: I thought that was mistranslated.

JESUS: No; it wasn't.

JOSEPH SMITH: You SURE?

JESUS: Yes. Now I must be going: what did you say your name was again?

JOSEPH SMITH: Joseph Smith.

JESUS: Hmmmm. According to my Heavenly Faithbook, you didn't sign in as one of my friends - sorry, I never knew you.

JOSEPH SMITH: But....

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JESUS: Hey Smith!   Remember that boast you made about doing more than even I had done to hold the 'church' together?

JOSEPH SMITH: Where am I?

JESUS: Don't you remember? A few seconds ago you were in that jail.

JOSEPH SMITH: Oh; yeah; but where am I NOW?

JESUS: Don't you remember? Does bang - bang ring a bell?

JOSEPH SMITH: Oh; yeah - that crummy gun I had was about USELESS!

JESUS: I hope you left instructions on how to hold your church together.

JOSEPH SMITH: Dang! I knew there was SOMETHING I was forgetting!

JESUS: Looks like there's a power struggle going on down there.

JOSEPH SMITH: Yeah; there was always SOMEone who wanted the power that I held - especially over the LADIES - wink wink.

JESUS: No need to worry about that now; remember what my friend Matthew wrote down?

JOSEPH SMITH: This? “At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven” (Matthew 22:30)

JESUS: That's it.

JOSEPH SMITH: I thought that was mistranslated.

JESUS: Nah - it was right.

JOSEPH SMITH: Oh well; it was fun while it lasted. My buds will still get it on with the girls.

JESUS: Uh; I'm sorry; in just a few more years; your followers will cavein to the United States government and abandon the 'Eternal Covenant' that you came up with.

JOSEPH SMITH: ME!? YOU are the one that told me to do that!

JESUS: Sorry; but you must have mistranslated what I told you. What part of Do NOT commit ADULTERY did you not understand?

JOSEPH SMITH: mumble....

JESUS: What did you say?

JOSEPH SMITH: Oh, nothing.

JESUS: Well; it was interesting talking to you; but now I must get back to perparing a place for those who believe in Me.

JOSEPH SMITH: Oh, yeah; the Celestial Kingdom.

JESUS: No...

JOSEPH SMITH: The Telestial one?

JESUS: Nope.

JOSEPH SMITH: SUREly not the TERRESTRIAL one!!

JESUS: Nope. Didn't you read that the mind of man had NOT conceived of it? Paul wrote it down in 1 Corinthians 2:9.

JOSEPH SMITH: I thought that was mistranslated.

JESUS: No; it wasn't.

JOSEPH SMITH: You SURE?

JESUS: Yes. Now I must be going: what did you say your name was again?

JOSEPH SMITH: Joseph Smith.

JESUS: Hmmmm. According to my Heavenly Faithbook, you didn't sign in as one of my friends - sorry, I never knew you.

JOSEPH SMITH: But....

[Elsie]

They have a bastardized understanding of salvation because they broke away from the Catholic Church, but took some of the traditions with them and mingled them up with silly philosophies.

INCREDIBLE!

For once; ELSIE is SPEECHLESS!

[Elsie]

They have a bastardized understanding of salvation because they broke away from the Catholic Church, but took some of the traditions with them and mingled them up with silly philosophies.

(We are supposed to waste HOW much time on this insanity?)

[Elsie]

Not really norm - you are viewing it through boa 4:1, 26-7.

At LEAST it's not 'silly philosophies'!

[Elsie]

There is a cure for ignorance, but one has to be in the right mood for it.

There is a cure for deception; too, but one has to be open to the prompting of the Spirit.

[Elsie]

As compared to the mormon definition which is to say all the things one wants to 'thus saith the lord', regardless of the fact that they never come to pass.

Except that:

In MORMONism; One DOESN'T have to say, 'thus saith the lord', to be regarded as SCRIPTURE.

[Elsie]

 

The LDSers should take notes, and make him director of the training division.

 

 

Will he need THIS fellows recommend first??

 

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Professor Robert Millet        teaching at the Mission Prep Club in 2004  http://newsnet.byu.edu/video/18773/  <-- Complete and uneditted

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Timeline...    Subject...

 

0:59            "Anti-Mormons..."

1:16            "ATTACK the faith you have..."

2:02           "We really aren't obligated to answer everyone's questions..."

3:57           "You already know MORE about God and Christ and the plan of salvation than any who would ATTACK you."

[Elsie]

Was Joseph Smith slain for being a false prophet

Yes, but they were wrong.

 

 No; he got himself KILLED because of all the LAWS that he broke and the HUSBANDS he infuriated!

Please get your FACTS right before you conjure up theories.

[Elsie]

 

More from the mouth of a late Prophet of MORMONism:

 

In conclusion let us summarize this grand key, these “Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet”, for our salvation depends on them.

1. The prophet is the only man who speaks for the Lord in everything.
2. The living prophet is more vital to us than the standard works.
3. The living prophet is more important to us than a dead prophet.
4. The prophet will never lead the church astray.
5. The prophet is not required to have any particular earthly training or credentials to speak on any subject or act on any matter at any time.
6. The prophet does not have to say “Thus Saith the Lord,” to give us scripture.
7. The prophet tells us what we need to know, not always what we want to know.
8. The prophet is not limited by men’s reasoning.
9. The prophet can receive revelation on any matter, temporal or spiritual.
10. The prophet may advise on civic matters.
11. The two groups who have the greatest difficulty in following the prophet are the proud who are learned and the proud who are rich.
12. The prophet will not necessarily be popular with the world or the worldly.
13. The prophet and his counselors make up the First Presidency—the highest quorum in the Church.
14. The prophet and the presidency—the living prophet and the First Presidency—follow them and be blessed—reject them and suffer.

I testify that these fourteen fundamentals in following the living prophet are true. If we want to know how well we stand with the Lord then let us ask ourselves how well we stand with His mortal captain—how close do our lives harmonize with the Lord’s anointed—the living Prophet—President of the Church, and with the Quorum of the First Presidency.

Ezra Taft Benson

(Address given Tuesday, February 26, 1980 at Brigham Young University)

 

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