I’m a Mormon, Not a Christian [Mega hit piece on Christians]

New York Times ^ | June 12, 2012 | David V. Mason

[greyfoxx39]

................... Mormons seem to be everywhere.

I want to be on record about this. I’m about as genuine a Mormon as you’ll find — a templegoer with a Utah pedigree and an administrative position in a congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am also emphatically not a Christian.

-SNIP-

In addition, these Christians had to defend their use of additional scripture and their unconventional conception of God and explain why they were following a bumpkin carpenter from some obscure backwater. Early Christianity’s relationship with non-Jews was even worse. Roman writers frequently alluded to rumors about the cannibalistic and hedonistic elements of early Christian rites. One after the other, Christians went to the lions because they found it impossible to defend themselves against such outrageous accusations. They did eat flesh and drink blood every Sunday, after all.

Eventually, Christianity grew up and conceded that it wasn’t authentic Judaism. Lo and behold, once it had given up its claim to Judaism, it became a state religion — cannibalism notwithstanding — and spent the next 1,700 years getting back at all the bullies who had slighted it when it was a child.

-SNIP-

Whatever happens in November, I hope Mormonism eventually realizes that it doesn’t need Christianity’s approval and will get big and beat up all the imperious Christians who tormented it when it was small, weird and painfully self-conscious. Mormons are certainly Christian enough to know how to spitefully abuse their power.

[ejonesie22]

Well then I can understand the confusion.

Jesus was the Word made flesh. Why this was important was to demonstrate to his creation that God truly understood us, how we went about our lives. As any man would do Jesus prayed to God. Can we say he prayed to himself, perhaps, but to those of us who believe we know there is far more to it than that. My personal belief is that during Jesus Earthly ministry there was a "separation" of a kind, not complete but the man Jesus saw the world with Earthly eyes and lived a fully human experience while still maintaining heavenly connection with the whole.

Seems a tick confusing of course yet in the end its is amazing. And yes, from this the “mystery beyond full comprehension” DOES indeed answer the question, for we do not understand the HOW but we embrace the WHY.

God is powerful enough to be as he wishes, that he can both be with us as a man yet remain fully God is not hard to believe when one looks at the wonders he has made.

[Elsie]

As we see every day on FR most Christians do not have the faintest idea of what mormon doctrine and beliefs are...yet.

Heck; most MORMONs do not 'know' what is in their own 'scriptures', history and teachings!

[Colofornian]

I am not theistic, but your answer that the Trinity is a “mystery beyond full comprehension” does not explain why Jesus prayed to God if they are both one.

Why are you putting words in my mouth with a false quote? (I didn't say that...are you quoting somebody else...or was it just more convenient for you to create a straw man because you can't or won't more fully answer the Q?)

If you're not theistic, then what does all this matter to you re: how many gods there are? (Apparently, it doesn't)

If you're not theistic, then apparently it won't matter to you -- until you see Jesus face-to-face -- whether He is THE True God of the Universe -- or not. (THEN, it will be ALL that matters to you)

[Elsie]

Don’t let your assumptions lead you into a corner.

[Elsie]

Don’t let your assumptions lead you into a corner.

Like I am going out on a limb and ASSUME that you either believe Jesus was NOT GOD, or else the Fathe, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are three SEPARATE gods.

[RedMonqey]

Ironic you are using a JEW to point out other people’s “
heresy”
Guess Jews, Catholics, Anglicans among others are all on the express train to hell along with rhe mormons, eh?

[Elsie]

Temple Mormons are the "elite" Mormons -- the Mormons who tend to think they are "gods in embryo" on their way to full-grown godhood...like Mitt Romney.

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The Doctrine and Covenants

 

Section 132

Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Nauvoo, Illinois, recorded 12 July 1843, relating to the new and everlasting covenant, including the eternity of the marriage covenant, and also the plurality of wives (see History of the Church, 5:501–7). Although the revelation was recorded in 1843, it is evident from the historical records that the doctrines and principles involved in this revelation had been known by the Prophet since 1831.

1–6, Exaltation is gained through the new and everlasting covenant; 7–14, The terms and conditions of that covenant are set forth; 15–20, Celestial marriage and a continuation of the family unit enable men to become gods; 21–25, The strait and narrow way leads to eternal lives; 26–27, The law is given relative to blasphemy against the Holy Ghost; 28–39, Promises of eternal increase and exaltation are made to prophets and Saints in all ages; 40–47, Joseph Smith is given the power to bind and seal on earth and in heaven; 48–50, The Lord seals upon him his exaltation; 51–57, Emma Smith is counseled to be faithful and true; 58–66, Laws governing the plurality of wives are set forth.

 

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 16Therefore, when they are out of the world they neither marry nor are given in ^amarriage; but are appointed angels in ^bheaven, which angels are ministering ^cservants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory.

 17For these angels did not abide my law; therefore, they cannot be enlarged, but remain separately and singly, without exaltation, in their saved condition, to all eternity; and from henceforth are not gods, but are ^aangels of God forever and ever.

 18And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife, and make a covenant with her for time and for all eternity, if that ^acovenant is not by me or by my word, which is my law, and is not sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, through him whom I have anointed and appointed unto this power, then it is not valid neither of force when they are out of the world, because they are not joined by me, saith the Lord, neither by my word; when they are out of the world it cannot be received there, because the angels and the gods are appointed there, by whom they cannot pass; they cannot, therefore, inherit my glory; for my house is a house of order, saith the Lord God.

 19And again, verily I say unto you, if a man ^amarry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and ^beverlasting covenant, and it is ^csealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of ^dpromise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the ^ekeys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them—Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be after the first resurrection, in the next resurrection; and shall inherit ^fthrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths—then shall it be written in the Lamb’s ^gBook of Life, that he shall commit no ^hmurder whereby to shed innocent ⁱblood, and if ye abide in my covenant, and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their ^jexaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the ^kseeds forever and ever.

 20 Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from ^aeverlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be ^bgods, because they have ^call power, and the angels are subject unto them.

 21Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye abide my ^alaw ye cannot attain to this glory.

 22For ^astrait is the gate, and narrow the ^bway that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the ^clives, and few there be that find it, because ye receive me not in the world neither do ye know me.

 23But if ye receive me in the world, then shall ye know me, and shall receive your exaltation; that ^awhere I am ye shall be also.

 24This is ^aeternal lives—to ^bknow the only wise and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath ^csent. I am he. Receive ye, therefore, my law.

 25^aBroad is the gate, and wide the way that leadeth to the ^bdeaths; and many there are that go in thereat, because they ^creceive me not, neither do they abide in my law.

[chesley]

Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m voting for Romney. Nor do I think he, or other Mormons, are Satanic.

I just believe that everything that is not of God is of Satan, and I don’t think, or believe, that Mormonism is of God, decent as most of them are.

Like it, or lump it, that’s my opinion. I’ll answer to God one day for it, as will you for yours.

[Elsie]

We had another prediction on FR that's come true ~ that was when the Mittbots got their boy over the line they'd begin openly equating any criticism of Mitt with criticism of the LDS.

Office of First President & Living Prophet®:

April 21st, 2012

URGENT!

Fellow MORMON Freeper Christians!!

 

Hot diggity dog; our boy has MADE it!!

Now beware; for the media is gonna be on us like... well; you know the saying.

I've been getting lots of feedback from those of you on Free Republic (spit) about a certain ELSIE (or something like that), who is REALLY giving us a hard time there!

 

Why not try to point out to the uninformed how OBSESSED he seems to be.

 

Let's see if we can tangle him up so much trying to defend his reputation

that he'll no longer have as much time to post facts about MORMONism.

 

As always, Tommy M.  

 

(Keep pressing that we are CHRISTIAN and avoid anything MORMON like the DEVIL!!)

[Elsie]

He was the president of the Mormon church and also Ike’s Sec. of Ag.

I believe our FReeper community will find favor in his wisdom ...

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MORE from Wise, Old Ezra...

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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)     http://www.lds.org/liahona/1981/06/fourteen-fundamentals-in-following-the-prophet?lang=eng

[TheThirdRuffian]

“[The Devil] does his best soul-destroying work in the area of false religion. Mormonism is one of his better efforts. It’s a killer wrapped in a wholesome, patriotic, family-friendly wrapper with the name of Jesus attached for an extra measure of deception.”

Indeed.

[Elsie]

So, what term do we want to use so that we don't needlessly confuse or insult our fellow Christians?

This appears to be NO problem for MORMONs. That is the group, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America.

They religiously claim that ONLY their group has the RIGHT to call themselves MORMON.

Even though others manage to actually FOLLOW more MORMON scriptures than themselves, they relentlessly try to pound into the rest of the world's brain that the Big Boys Rule!

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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

[Elsie]

No; there is NO implied threat here. Move along now...

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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

[Elsie]

At least non of the Morman preachers have never been recorded yelling ‘God Damn America.

Sigh...

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...the presidential campaign of Mormon Church founder Joseph Smith in 1844: “Challenging Democrat James Polk and Whig Henry Clay, Smith prophesied that if the U.S. Congress did not accede to his demands that ‘they shall be broken up as a government and God shall damn them.’

Smith viewed capturing the presidency as part of the mission of the church.

[ravenwolf]

I will not even pretend that i could really understand the stupid post,must have been posted by a professor of some kind, but it looks to me it was meant to make people believe that is the way Mormons really think.

[Elsie]

Temple Recommend question #11

Do you keep the Word of Wisdom?

[chesley]

I’ll take a Mormon like Romney over a stupid gang banger wannabee dope smoking cocaine user like Obama any day.

For me, too. Also over a born-again (of so he claims) Christian like Jimmy Carter

[Elsie]

Good Catholics don't.

Oh?

And just which SCRIPTURE do they base this practice upon?

MORMONs can POINT to theirs!

[x]

Um ... I think he misspelled "moron."

But then a moron would do that.

Strange the Times didn't catch it, though.

[ravenwolf]

Well good, I hope so. The more attacks on Mormonism the better. I hope the people in the country do find out about that cult lunacy. I for one welcome it.

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You are most likely right, but i think the most dangerous religions are the ones that appear to be the real thing, need i even mention them.

The great harlot and her daughters.