Posted on 07/12/2013 3:47:27 PM PDT by Colofornian
Not hard to answer.
Your wife would have no such LEGAL authority to make the woman your “wife”;
“accusing the Mormons of something they are not doing is no answer”
Mormons DO teach eternal polygamy. Just ask one if Bring ‘em Young is still married to all his wives.
SOME mormons do still teach polygamy on earth - following their prophets. Not all do.
All teach eternal polygamy.
I understand...Let's compare Gen. 16:3 to Gen. 30:4,9:
3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife.
Sarai did this. Abram didn't initiate it; nor did God.
Now Genesis 30:
4 So she [Rachel] gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife...9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.
So, in Gen. 30, Rachel did the same thing; so did Leah. Jacob didn't initiate it; nor did God.
These were women making decisions based upon...
(a) In Sarai's case, distrust of God [she thought this would be the ONLY way God could fulfill His promise of numerous descendents...given Sarai's age]
(b) In Rachel's case, same motivation:
3 Then she said, “Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.” [Gen. 30:3]
(c) In Leah's case, kinda the same thing...she had "stopped having children" -- so to counter this new barrenness -- and, being in direct competition with the Rachel-Bilhad side -- she copied Rachel's action...
This was all hardly divinely initiated, divinely sanctioned...
LOTS of Scripture describes men and women's sins...doesn't mean the Bible sanctions that activity...just describes it...sometimes even matter-of-factly.
I KNOWthat polygamy is practiced in the United States, even though it is against the law.
I suppose this is pertinent somehow?
Make up your mind: is it Prophet or Priest?
...appears that the Prophet was the only one that was under command ...
What?
And Sari had the POWER to run her off?
LOTS of Scripture describes men and women’s sins...doesn’t mean the Bible sanctions that activity...just describes it...sometimes even matter-of-factly.
There is no direct commandment not to have more than one wife.
We can do a lot of assuming but you do not send some one to prison or to their death on assumptions, or at least we are not supposed to.
I honestly do not know, but i am not going to Judge a man for having more than one wife until i see the commandment that forbids it.
God is going to do the judging so i sure do not want to get judged for judging some one else more than what God would.
I was advised to join the Mormon church many years ago i refused, not because of polygamy but because of the tithing, i believe that a Christian Church collecting tithes is stealing.
I believe the 8th commandment plainly says thou shalt not steal.
If Jesus or even the Levites had of turned over the collection of tithes to the Christians then they would not be stealing, but again no scripture.
Will you at least agree that having "many wives" leads a man's heart astray from God?
Basis of that "common ground" we can agree upon:
17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. (Deuteronomy 17:17)
*************************
Also, many, many, MANY 19th century Mainstream Mormons -- and fLDS today -- have married sisters...which goes against the injunction found in Leviticus 18:18:
Therefore, could you at least condemn those Mormons who have violated this?
18 “‘Do not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living."
Well; if one takes the words at face value; you might be right.
The 'tithe' was a command given to the Jews: GOD's Chosen People.
Are Non-Jewish, NT Christians required to 'tithe'?
The list given to the Gentiles in Acts 15 fails to mention it.
Jesus failed to mention it in John 6:28-29
And Paul writes to the Cornithians thusly:
2 Corinthians 9:6-7 (esv)
6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully[a] will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
I can do without the guilt trip about a man robbing GOD (Malachi 3:8-12) that seems to pop up at least once a year.
1 Corinthians 10:23-24 (niv)
23 "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is constructive. 24 Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.
You should not have let that bother you; as MOST Mormons do NOT pay the FULL tithe.
That amount is REQUIRED to get a Temple Recommend.
Without which you will be denied access to the HIGHEST level of MORMON heaven; where JESUS will dwell in eternity.
I cannot recall ANY of our FR MORMONs claiming to have a TR.
According to the available data gleaned from MORMON sources; only about 15% or so have a TR; right MORMONs??
|
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 you 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? |
1–4, Celestial marriage is essential to exaltation in the highest heaven; 5–6, How men are sealed up unto eternal life is explained; 7–8, All spirit is matter.
1 In the acelestial glory there are three bheavens or degrees;
2 And in order to obtain the ahighest, a man must enter into this border of the cpriesthood [meaning the new and deverlasting covenant of emarriage];
3 And if he does not, he cannot obtain it.
4 He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have an aincrease.
5 (May 17th, 1843.) The more sure word of aprophecy means a man’s knowing that he is bsealed up unto ceternal life, by revelation and the spirit of prophecy, through the power of the Holy Priesthood.
6 It is impossible for a man to be asaved in bignorance.
7 There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All aspirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by bpurer eyes;
8 We cannot asee it; but when our bodies are purified we shall see that it is all bmatter.
Will you at least agree that having “many wives” leads a man’s heart astray from God?
18
Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.
Your version is talking about taking sisters as wives, the KJV seems to be talking about taking two sisters to bed at the same time.
So if they both mean the same thing then i would have to agree.
As far as condemning them, i would have to be sure in my own mind, some things i am sure of and other things i am not sure of.
When i first became what i thought was a Christian i was one of the most critical sobs in the country but after doing some reading i found that i was not a Christian at all but only trying to be religious.
Believe it or not i used to condemn the Mormons but that was before i really starting being a believer, now the only thing i can find against them is religion.
If the Mormons still practiced polygamy i think i would look at it different but they don,t.
I believe polygamy is an issue only as long as it is preached and practiced as a religion and i have never heard any one publicly preaching the right for plural wives.
I definitely have my views about things, but it mostly is my own taste so to speak, for instance i hate to see a man wearing shorts,( baby britches ) but can i condemn them? no because i see no law of God against it.
I think one thing we can agree on is the 10 commandments although we may have a little difference of opinion on the exact meaning.
For instance i believe thou shall not kill is incorporated with thou shall do no murder and shall not kill with out cause.
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
But the tithes was 10 percent, the same as a tax and it went for the same purpose as what we pay tax to our Government now regardless of where we live except it was not so extensive.
The Leviticus priesthood are the ones who managed the Government.
At the time of Jesus the Government was controlled partly by the Jews and by the Romans.
Jesus warned that it was all going to end and it did, there were no more priesthood to pay the tithes to and what would they have done with it? they no longer had a Government to manage.
So that is why tithes was not mentioned in the new testament except in past tense.
We are supposed to give and we are told that when we give we are not to let the left hand know what the right hand does.
In other words don,t keep account of what we give, its not no one else,s business what we give because we are not giving just to get, nor to show some one else how great we are.
When the Pentecostal Church sent me a statement at the end of the year so that i could deduct my alms for tax purpose i quit, for the simple reason if they could not understand the teaching of Jesus any better than that i would look for some one who could.
So i guess we have a different idea of what tithes are but i see you understand the idea of giving.
My idea is it is not what we give in Church that counts as much as what we give to personally help some one in our every day life.
I also think it is right to give in Church, but its like a preacher said ( it is just as much a preachers responsibility to give to help others as it is others always giving to help the preacher ).
1 Corinthians 10:23-24 (niv)
23 “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is constructive. 24 Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.
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?
As far as this one, i think they do not understand an inner garment is not something you wear.
This is a good example of why i think religion and Christianity are not even related.
1–4, Celestial marriage is essential to exaltation in the highest heaven; 5–6, How men are sealed up unto eternal life is explained; 7–8, All spirit is matter.
We do not know anything about it, we just have ideas and some people claim to have revelations from God and teach them as fact.
The only thing we have is faith.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.