Journalists urged to allow Mormons to define themselves

Deseret News ^ | December 8, 2011 | Joseph Walker

[Saundra Duffy]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — News reporters and editors from around the country were urged to allow members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to define themselves rather than to exclusively look to sources outside the church for definitions of what it means to be a Mormon or to explain LDS doctrine or history.

"Define us by who we are and by our central beliefs rather than who we are not or by obscure or irrelevant beliefs," Michael R. Otterson, managing director of public affairs for the LDS Church, said during a Thursday morning session of a conference called, "Politics and Religion: Getting it Right in 2012."

--snip--

Otterson identified for the journalists what he considered the five most common stereotypes of members of the LDS Church — that they are not Christian, that they belong to a cult, that they are insular and secretive, that they are weird and that they practice polygamy.

--snip--

Otterson explained that members of the church are troubled when they are described as not Christian "because that suggests we are not followers of Jesus Christ, and Christ's divinity is a foundational belief in our faith."

[Osage Orange]

I would suggest a couple things..........

Don't be surprised if you don't receive a reply.

Secondly....shake the dust off your shoes...and just move on.

[Colofornian]

So, the Mormons want to define who are Christians, who are Mormons, and control all information about themselves??

Yup.

Master control. They wanna define who's a Mormon and who's not (Gordon B. Hinckley said on the Larry King show that there was "no such thing" as a fundamentalist Mormon)

They crave power.

They crave the power to control.

They crave the power to be equal peers with God even!

[reaganaut]

All the other Churches believe that about themselves.

- - - - -
Ummm...NO Sandy, they don’t. More lies your church teaches its members.

Even since Vatican II, the Catholic church admits that salvation can be found outside Catholicism. Protestant churches only reject the ‘restorationist’ churches like Mormonism. And they ALL agree that Mormonism isn’t Christian.

BIG TIME FAIL, SANDY.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

Sandy, since you are not worthy enough for a Templ Recommend yet, here’s a you tube video where you can hear the cultic practices explained:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CCIQtwIwAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Djv5cMKp8tkI&ei=-qvmTujqBYba0QHNlNWVCg&usg=AFQjCNF2vC_rof7u3ldaYTZH0jXe45Z4HQ

[Colofornian]

"Define us by who we are and by our central beliefs rather than who we are not or by obscure or irrelevant beliefs," Michael R. Otterson, managing director of public affairs for the LDS Church, said...

Well, isn't that the problem to begin with? Mormonism and its leaders can't figure out which beliefs that have been taught by their General Authorities past and present are "central...obscure or irrelevant"!!! (They certainly weren't deemed "irrelevant" by those Mormon leaders who taught them!)

On this online discussion among Mormons @ Mormonmatters.org earlier this year -- 42: Pros and Cons of Keeping Mormonism “Weird” -- one poster named Jacob Brown realized this and said:

"Another weakness and strength of Mormonism is that it has no constitution or fixed canon. Continuing revelation allows the tradition to be gradually molded or suddenly reshaped by the institution in power. This adaptability has played importantly into Mormonism survival. However, the inability to pin anything down makes it difficult to decide what is even official doctrine. See? New solution with a new problem."

Mormonism.

Think of a swamp maze...
...with a foundation of quicksand...
...and the name of the "game" is to nail green jello to the swamptrees...
...and the "winner" per Joseph Smith (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith book, pp. 346-347, 367) is to live in "everlasting burnings"...his phraseology.

I think Joseph partially got what he wanted at least with his afterlife quarters' "reservation."

[Colofornian]

Polygamy It aint just for time anymore...

Ah. A new partial tagline (see below)

[Tennessee Nana]

;)

[reaganaut]

Yep. Mormonism is arrogance personified and trying to masquerade as Christianity.

Fortunately, the internet has done a lot to show people what Mormons are really focused on - “the Church”.

So, Sandy, how is that ‘after all you can do’ working out for you? CK bound yet?

[ejonesie22]

So Christ is divine. So he is god number two in Mormon land, the father being another...

Polytheism.

Please Mormons, define yourselves, the answers will all be as interesting as they are different...

[reaganaut]

If Jesus is one of the 3 gods of the Godhead, why don’t they worship Him or pray to Him? Is he equal or subservient to Heavenly Father?

1. We worship the Father and him only and no one else.

We do not worship the Son, and we do not worship the Holy Ghost. I know perfectly well what the scriptures say about worshipping Christ and Jehovah, but they are speaking in an entirely different sense—the sense of standing in awe and being reverentially grateful to him who has redeemed us. Worship in the true and saving sense is reserved for God the first, the Creator. http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=6843

[Saundra Duffy]

I believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost - and when I was baptized (full dunk) those words were spoken. When I used to be a Baptist a preacher said the Trinity is like an egg - the shell, the white and the yolk. It’s a mystery.

As I said, I believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Three different functions but one in purpose. Why is that controversial?

The Trinity is a man-made concept. By the way, when we pray we always address our Father in Heaven and we finish with “In the Name of Jesus Christ - Amen.” When we finish a talk, we end “In the Name of Jesus Christ” - we love Him and adore Him, our Savior. The Plan of Salvation was Heavenly Father’s Plan and the Holy Ghost seals this in our hearts.

Please stop misrepresenting my faith. Thank you and Merry Christmas.

[Vendome]

Ain’t it true baby. inside baseball....

[Saundra Duffy]

“I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man or woman comes to the Father except by Me.” John 14:6

I believe that with all my heart. Jesus Christ is my Advocate with the Father.

Interesting - my grandson (age 6) attended VBS that was put on by the Lutherans and the 7th Day Adventists and he had a blast - they even had a zipline that went across the gym for the kids. However, when he came home he said, “Grandma, they don’t know Heavenly Father!” He said “They don’t pray right” because they don’t pray to Heavenly Father and end in “In the Name of Jesus Christ - Amen.” I thought that was really cute of him and insightful. I believe the Holy Ghost taught that to my grandson.

[Saundra Duffy]

We are a peculiar people; that’s for sure!

[ejonesie22]

I am not the one misrepresenting your faith.

Again you prove how little you know of it and how confused you are. You speak in Trinitarian terms then say the the Holy Trinity is a man made concept.

So Saundra, are the Mormon father son and holy ghost separate or not?

If so is Jesus divine? Is he (a)God as it clearly says in the Bible.

If I am misrepresenting, the represent it correctly.

The article says Mormons define themselves. Lets see it...

[Elsie]

Journalists urged to allow Mormons to define themselves

So, Sandy; would you describe yourself as a Temple Recommend® possessor or not?

[Elsie]

Journalists urged to allow Mormons to define themselves

HA ha!!

Those Hypocrites in Salt Lake City want to define OTHERS!!

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Media Letter   

26 June 2008 — Salt Lake City  (http://newsroom.lds.org/additional-resource/media-letter)

*The following is a letter from Elder Lance B. Wickman, General Counsel of the Church to publishers of major newspapers, TV stations and magazines. It was sent out on Tuesday, June 24, 2008.

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Recent events have focused the media spotlight on a polygamous sect near San Angelo, Texas, calling itself the “Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.” As you probably know, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has absolutely no affiliation with this polygamous sect. Decades ago, the founders of that sect rejected the doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, were excommunicated, and then started their own religion. To the best of our knowledge, no one at the Texas compound has ever been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Unfortunately, however, some of the media coverage of the recent events in Texas has caused members of the public to confuse the doctrines and members of that group and our church. We have received numerous inquiries from confused members of the public who, by listening to less than careful media reports, have come to a grave misunderstanding about our respective doctrines and faith. Based on these media reports many have erroneously concluded that there is some affiliation between the two – or even worse, that they are one and the same.

Over the years, in a careful effort to distinguish itself, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has gone to significant lengths to protect its rights in the name of the church and related matters. Specifically, we have obtained registrations for the name “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” “Mormon,” “Book of Mormon” and related trade and service marks from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and corresponding agencies in a significant number of foreign countries.

We are confident that you are committed to avoiding misleading statements that cause unwarranted confusion and that may disparage or infringe the intellectual property rights discussed above. Accordingly, we respectfully request the following:

1. As reflected in the AP Style Guide, we ask that you and your organization refrain from referring to members of that polygamous sect as “fundamentalist Mormons” or “fundamentalist” members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
2. We ask that, when reporting about this Texas-based polygamous sect or any other polygamous group, you avoid either explicitly or implicitly any inference that these groups are affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
3. On those occasions when it may be necessary in your reporting to refer to the historical practice of plural marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that you make very clear that the Church does not condone the practice of polygamy and that it has been forbidden in the Church for over one hundred years. Moreover, we absolutely condemn arranged or forced “marriages” of underage girls to anyone under any circumstances.

Stated simply, we would like to be known and recognized for whom we are and what we believe, and not be inaccurately associated with beliefs and practices that we condemn in the strongest terms. We would be grateful if you could circulate or copy this letter to your editorial staff and to your legal counsel.

We thank you for your consideration of these important matters.

Sincerely,

Lance B. Wickman

General Counsel

[BlueMoose]

oh my

[Elsie]

Journalists urged to allow Mormons to define themselves

I kinda like how MORMONs 'define' themselves; especially one of the GREAT leaders!!

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"Now if any of you will deny the plurality of wives, and continue to do so, I promise that you will be damned;

and I will go still further and say, take this revelation, or any other revelation that the Lord has given,

and deny it in your feelings, and I promise that you will be damned.

Brigham Young - JoD 3:266 (July 14, 1855)

[Elsie]

Journalists urged to allow Mormons to define themselves

And then, the way they describe OTHERS is just MINDboggling!!

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Questions put to Joseph Smith: "'Do you believe the Bible?' [Smith:]'If we do, we are the only people under heaven that does, for there are none of the religious sects of the day that do'. When asked 'Will everybody be damned, but Mormons'? [Smith replied] 'Yes, and a great portion of them, unless they repent, and work righteousness." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 119).

Joseph Smith: "for the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible" (from Pearl of Great Price 1:12). "What is it that inspires professors of Christianity generally with a hope of salvation? It is that smooth, sophisticated influence of the devil, by which he deceives the whole world" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.270).

 

 

 

Brigham Young stated this repeatedly: "When the light came to me I saw that all the so-called Christian world was grovelling in darkness" (Journal of Discourses 5:73); "The Christian world, so-called, are heathens as to the knowledge of the salvation of God" (Journal of Discourses 8:171); "With a regard to true theology, a more ignorant people never lived than the present so-called Christian world" (Journal of Discourses 8:199); "And who is there that acknowledges [God's] hand? ...You may wander east, west, north, and south, and you cannot find it in any church or government on the earth, except the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" (Journal of Discourses , vol. 6, p.24); "Should you ask why we differ from other Christians, as they are called, it is simply because they are not Christians as the New Testament defines Christianity" (Journal of Discourses 10:230).

 

 

 

Orson Pratt proclaimed: "Both Catholics and Protestants are nothing less than the 'whore of Babylon' whom the Lord denounces by the mouth of John the Revelator as having corrupted all the earth by their fornications and wickedness. Any person who shall be so corrupt as to receive a holy ordinance of the Gospel from the ministers of any of these apostate churches will be sent down to hell with them, unless they repent" (The Seer, p. 255).

 

 

 

Orson Pratt also said: "This great apostasy commenced about the close of the first century of the Christian era, and it has been waxing worse and worse from then until now" (Journal of Discourses

, vol.18, p.44) and: "But as there has been no Christian Church on the earth for a great many centuries past, until the present century, the people have lost sight of the pattern that God has given according to which the Christian Church should be established, and they have denominated a great variety of people Christian Churches, because they profess to be ...But there has been a long apostasy, during which the nations have been cursed with apostate churches in great abundance" (Journal of Discourses , 18:172).

 

 

President John Taylor stated: "Christianity...is a perfect pack of nonsense...the devil could not invent a better engine to spread his work than the Christianity of the nineteenth century." (Journal of Discourses , vol. 6, p.167); "Where shall we look for the true order or authority of God? It cannot be found in any nation of Christendom." (Journal of Discourses , 10:127).

 

 

 

James Talmage said: "A self-suggesting interpretation of history indicates that there has been a great departure from the way of salvation as laid down by the Savior, a universal apostasy from the Church of Christ". (A Study of the Articles of Faith, p.182).

 

 

 

President Joseph Fielding Smith said: "Doctrines were corrupted, authority lost, and a false order of religion took the place of the gospel of Jesus Christ, just as it had been the case in former dispensations, and the people were left in spiritual darkness." (Doctrines of Salvation, p.266). "For hundreds of years the world was wrapped in a veil of spiritual darkness, until there was not one fundamental truth belonging to the place of salvation ...Joseph Smith declared that in the year 1820 the Lord revealed to him that all the 'Christian' churches were in error, teaching for commandments the doctrines of men" (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 3, p.282).

 

 

 

More recent statements by apostle Bruce McConkie are also very clear: "Apostasy was universal...And this darkness still prevails except among those who have come to a knowledge of the restored gospel" (Doctrines of Salvation, vol 3, p.265); "Thus the signs of the times include the prevailing apostate darkness in the sects of Christendom and in the religious world in general" (The Millennial Messiah, p.403); "a perverted Christianity holds sway among the so-called Christians of apostate Christendom" (Mormon Doctrine, p.132); "virtually all the millions of apostate Christendom have abased themselves before the mythical throne of a mythical Christ whom they vainly suppose to be a spirit essence who is incorporeal uncreated, immaterial and three-in-one with the Father and Holy Spirit" (Mormon Doctrine, p.269); "Gnosticism is one of the great pagan philosophies which antedated Christ and the Christian Era and which was later commingled with pure Christianity to form the apostate religion that has prevailed in the world since the early days of that era." (Mormon Doctrine, p.316).

 

 

 

President George Q. Cannon said: "After the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized, there were only two churches upon the earth. They were known respectively as the Church of the Lamb of God and Babylon. The various organizations which are called churches throughout Christendom, though differing in their creeds and organizations, have one common origin. They all belong to Babylon" (Gospel Truth, p.324).

 

 

President Wilford Woodruff stated: "the Gospel of modern Christendom shuts up the Lord, and stops all communication with Him. I want nothing to do with such a Gospel, I would rather prefer the Gospel of the dark ages, so called" (Journal of Discourses , vol. 2, p.196).