One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church

EdensideChristian.org ^ | 2011

[Colofornian]

Founded in 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was initially perceived as a movement of polygamous, radical zealots; now in parts of the U.S. it has become synonymous with the establishment. In reevaluating its preoccupation with issues of church and state, Abanes uncovers the political agenda at Mormonism’s core: the transformation of the world into a theocratic kingdom under Mormon authority. This illustrated edition has been revised and offers a new postscript by the author.

[elcid1970]

Well......not even Chrissie Tingles would air that `photograph’ though he would probably ask Romney over & over about `magic underwear’ and don’t rule it out, “Governor, do you and your wife have intimate relations while wearing your Mormon garments? C’mon, Gov, public’s right to know!”

I have believed for years that we should never attack Hillary Clinton as a woman, that just wouldn’t be right, and anyway her politics and public statements provide more than sufficient ammunition for her critics.

[MarkBsnr]

He’s a Knight of Columbus....they have levels of secret ceremonies complete with death oaths and nudity similar to the LDS sect temple ceremonies. I think maybe some of our threads are a little too close for comfort for this guy.

And I'm a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus. You should see all the illicit fun we get up to with those plumed hats, and capes, and black tuxedos. And then we get to the swords. Yep, we're due to take over the world approximately next April. May at the latest.

[BlueMoose]

Thus says the Lord, Ye are gods and children of the Most High

[Elsie]

FR is definately not what it used to be.

Thank GOD!

[Elsie]

I despise them.

Aw...

And yet you come out to play with us!

Perhaps Santa will bring you your OWN football this time...

[BlueMoose]

God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.

[Elsie]

I despise them.

So would I; if I couldn't defend what I believe.

I'd despise them for making me look so darned foolish.

[MarkBsnr]

Thus says the Lord, Ye are gods and children of the Most High

Wouldn't it be fun if you looked up the Greek and found out what this verse really means?

[Elsie]

“Governor, do you and your wife have intimate relations while wearing your Mormon garments?

We can ONLY go by what their writings say:

(From Temple Recommend questions)

13 If you have previously received your temple endowment:

Do you keep the covenants that you made in the temple?
Do you wear the garment both night and day as instructed in the endowment and in accordance with the covenant you made in the temple?

[dragonblustar]

Thus says the Lord, Ye are gods and children of the Most High

You didn't finish it...

“But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes”.

Today we hear in many Christian circles that we are called to be gods. What used to be spoken only in silence and promoted by pseudo-Christian cults is now being openly declared in much of mainline Christianity. There is a movie called “The God Makers” which was distributed and shown in churches a few years ago which criticized the teaching of the Mormon church on this subject, and now this very same teaching is being promoted from various pulpits and many TV evangelists all across America.

Does the Bible teach that we are gods, or that we ever will be gods? Those who teach this refer to John 10:34, “Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?” as the scriptural base for such belief.

Let’s study this and see if Jesus was telling the Jews who were about to stone him that they are gods or not. If we read the verses that proceed this verse, (starting at vs. 24) the Jews asked Jesus to tell them plainly if He was the Christ or not. He answered by saying that He is the one who gives eternal life (vs.28) and that He and the Father are one. (vs.30) For saying this, the Jews took up stones to stone Him. Jesus asked for which good works were they going to stone him? (vs.32) They answered and said, not for the good works, but for blasphemy, being a man, making yourself as God. (Vs.33) Jesus replied, “in the scriptures, I said, you are gods. And if he called them gods, then how can you say I blasphemed?” In other words, why didn’t you stone others who are just mere men when the scriptures say that you are gods?

The Jews were correct in saying that mere man is not God, but since Jesus is God, then it was not blasphemy. Jesus was quoting Psalms 82:6 “I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High”. Verse 7 continues, “But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes”.

The tone and the explanation of Psalms 82: 6 are best understood when we read 1 Samuel 8: 4-7. “Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, and said unto them, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.”

In other words, they desired to be their own gods which is exactly what the first lie of Satan was that we find recorded in Genesis 3:5. “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes will be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”

The desire to be as God is the reason that Lucifer fell, and it should be no surprise that he should tempt man with the same temptation that seized his own heart, to partake of the same desire which he had within himself. (Isaiah 14:13-14) Satan told a half lie and half truth (as he is famous for doing), because we see in Genesis 3:22 that God said, “Behold, the man has become as one of us (“us” is the trinity), to know good and evil.” It is true that man has the knowledge of good and evil, just as does God, but the difference is that God has the knowledge of good and evil and hates evil and cannot be tempted by it. Man not only is tempted by evil, but also loves evil and is incapable of doing anything about it. The reason is because man is not God and can never be God. If man were a god, then it would only stand to reason that he would have the capacity to have life within himself and would never do anything evil. However, the reality is that man does great evil and will die as man.

If you may be one who has been caught up in this heretical teaching, I hope and pray that the Holy Spirit will convict you of this falsehood for this reason.

http://www.oaim.org/gods.html

[MarkBsnr]

Do you keep the covenants that you made in the temple? Do you wear the garment both night and day as instructed in the endowment and in accordance with the covenant you made in the temple?

I think that they should upgrade a tad. Victoria's Secret might be an improvement. But only for the few. So many of them would appear far more attractive with a Muslim bag over their heads...

[Elsie]

They either have to ACCEPT the following, or REPUDIATE them...

Right;  Resty???

[MarkBsnr]

Do you keep the covenants that you made in the temple? Do you wear the garment both night and day as instructed in the endowment and in accordance with the covenant you made in the temple?

I think that they should upgrade a tad. Victoria's Secret might be an improvement. But only for the few. So many of them would appear far more attractive with a Muslim bag over their heads...

[Elsie]

GOOD Mormons are Temple Worthy - they pass this test EVERY year:

Temple Recommend Questions

---

1 Do you have faith in and a testimony of God the Eternal Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost?

2 Do you have a testimony of the Atonement of Christ and of His role as Savior and Redeemer?

3 Do you have a testimony of the restoration of the gospel in these the latter days?

4 Do you sustain the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the Prophet, Seer, and Revelator and as the only person on the earth who possesses and is authorized to exercise all priesthood keys? Do you sustain members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators? Do you sustain the other General Authorities and local authorities of the Church?

5 Do you live the law of chastity?

6 Is there anything in your conduct relating to members of your family that is not in harmony with the teachings of the Church?

7 Do you support, affiliate with, or agree with any group or individual whose teachings or practices are contrary to or oppose those accepted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

8 Do you strive to keep the covenants you have made, to attend your sacrament and other meetings, and to keep your life in harmony with the laws and commandments of the gospel?

9 Are you honest in your dealings with your fellowmen?

10 Are you a full-tithe payer?

11 Do your keep the Word of Wisdom?

12 Do you have financial or other obligations to a former spouse or children? If yes, are you current in meeting those obligations?

13 If you have previously received your temple endowment:

Do you keep the covenants that you made in the temple?
Do you wear the garment both night and day as instructed in the endowment and in accordance with the covenant you made in the temple?

14 Have there been any sins or misdeeds in your life that should have been resolved with priesthood authorities but have not been?

15 Do you consider yourself worthy to enter the Lord's house and participate in temple ordinances?

 

 

1 Timothy 4:1-2
1. The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
2. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.

 

1 Timothy 1:3-4
3. As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer
4. nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God's work--which is by faith.

 

1 Timothy 6:3-5
3. If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching,
4. he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions
5. and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.

Temple Recommend Questions

---

1 Do you have faith in and a testimony of God the Eternal Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost?

2 Do you have a testimony of the Atonement of Christ and of His role as Savior and Redeemer?

3 Do you have a testimony of the restoration of the gospel in these the latter days?

4 Do you sustain the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the Prophet, Seer, and Revelator and as the only person on the earth who possesses and is authorized to exercise all priesthood keys? Do you sustain members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators? Do you sustain the other General Authorities and local authorities of the Church?

5 Do you live the law of chastity?

6 Is there anything in your conduct relating to members of your family that is not in harmony with the teachings of the Church?

7 Do you support, affiliate with, or agree with any group or individual whose teachings or practices are contrary to or oppose those accepted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

8 Do you strive to keep the covenants you have made, to attend your sacrament and other meetings, and to keep your life in harmony with the laws and commandments of the gospel?

9 Are you honest in your dealings with your fellowmen?

10 Are you a full-tithe payer?

11 Do your keep the Word of Wisdom?

12 Do you have financial or other obligations to a former spouse or children? If yes, are you current in meeting those obligations?

13 If you have previously received your temple endowment:

Do you keep the covenants that you made in the temple?
Do you wear the garment both night and day as instructed in the endowment and in accordance with the covenant you made in the temple?

14 Have there been any sins or misdeeds in your life that should have been resolved with priesthood authorities but have not been?

15 Do you consider yourself worthy to enter the Lord's house and participate in temple ordinances?

 

 

1 Timothy 4:1-2
1. The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
2. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.

 

1 Timothy 1:3-4
3. As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer
4. nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God's work--which is by faith.

 

1 Timothy 6:3-5
3. If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching,
4. he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions
5. and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.

1 Timothy 1:3-4
3. As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer
4. nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God's work--which is by faith.

 

1 Timothy 6:3-5
3. If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching,
4. he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions
5. and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.

[ejonesie22]

I always loved the KoC parties and ball at Mardi Gras...

[ejonesie22]

Ah, there is nothing’ like good ole polytheism. Zeus would be proud...

[MarkBsnr]

4 Do you sustain the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the Prophet, Seer, and Revelator and as the only person on the earth who possesses and is authorized to exercise all priesthood keys? Do you sustain members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators? Do you sustain the other General Authorities and local authorities of the Church?

I suppose that this includes the acceptance of the droit de seigneur.

1 Timothy 4; 1. The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.

But whose pockets are deep and being eternally filled with the tithing.

5 Do you live the law of chastity?

If by chastity, you mean that you stay within the confines of your harem, right?

10 Are you a full-tithe payer?

It lives and dies here, doesn't it?

[MarkBsnr]

I always loved the KoC parties and ball at Mardi Gras...

When we lived in Indiana, we knew an amateur swordmaker. I always wanted to commission a real battle sword, but we managed to move before I actually went through with it. Unfortunately, it had to fit the standard KofC scabbard, and we never did get the geometry right...

[aMorePerfectUnion]

Placemarker!

[Godzilla]

I’m not a mormon -redacted-"