We praise thee; Infidel!!!
Posted on 06/27/2014 6:28:57 AM PDT by Colofornian
VANCOUVER — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is suing the religious leader of a small polygamous sect in British Columbia, alleging Winston Blackmore has violated the church's trademarks and is attempting to portray himself — and his controversial community — as a part of mainstream Mormonism.
The Salt Lake City-based church has filed a notice of claim against a corporation set up by Blackmore, who is one of two leaders in a commune in southeastern B.C. known as Bountiful. Blackmore and his followers practise a fundamentalist form of Mormonism that still holds polygamy as a tenet of the faith.
The Canadian arm of the Mormon church says it tried to register Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Canada with B.C.'s corporate registry, but the application was rejected.
The registry indicated the church's proposed name was too similar to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Inc., which was registered by Blackmore in 2010, according to the statement of claim.
The lawsuit alleges Blackmore is attempting to suggest his group is sanctioned by the official church, which renounced polygamy more than a century ago and has disavowed any connection to Bountiful or similar polygamous groups in the United States.
"Adopting for its corporate identity the name 'the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Inc.' ... is yet another attempt of the Blackmore sect to convey a false impression of affiliation with the church,'' says the notice of claim, filed earlier this week in B.C. Supreme Court.
"The plaintiffs do not endorse, condone or support the Blackmore sect's practices and tenets.''
The Mormon church seeks a declaration that Blackmore's corporate name violates its trademarks and an injunction ordering his sect to stop.
Blackmore leads one of two divided factions in Bountiful, which is in the southeastern corner of the province a short distance from the U.S. border.
One side of the community is connected to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or FOLDS, and its jailed leader Warren Jeffs. Blackmore and his followers split off from that group more than a decade ago.
Bountiful has been the subject of numerous police investigations since the early 1990s amid allegations of polygamy, sexual abuse and human trafficking.
In 2009, Blackmore and James Oler, who led the other faction at the time, were each charged with one count of practising polygamy. Those charges were later thrown out after a judge ruled the prosecutor handling the case was chosen improperly.
The collapse of that prosecution prompted the government to launch a constitutional reference case, which ended in 2011 with a judge upholding the anti-polygamy law as constitutional.
The RCMP currently have yet another investigation into Bountiful. A special prosecutor has been appointed to review evidence and consider charges that could include human trafficking, child exploitation and polygamy.
The investigation followed evidence, presented at the constitutional reference hearing, that alleged dozens of teen brides were spirited across the U.S. border to marry older men.
A special prosecutor was appointed in 2012 to handle the case, but there has yet to be any word on potential charges.
The LDS bible contains the same Old & New Testament as any Protestant church. The Christ of the LDS is described in that New Testament.
If we do have this valuable discussion, and before it comes up, I do not play dueling Scriptures.
Too many use the Gospel to justify anything they wish. God lives in our hearts. We should be able to use our own words.
Draw, pardner. In the official doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ, Latter-Day Saints, they offer this:
"We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly"Perhaps you were unaware that their "prophet" Joseph Smith himself supposedly (re)translated the Bible to restore all these things that they claim were lost. Are you really sure that the "LDS bible", the Joseph Smith Translation, contains the same Old & New Testament as any Protestant church"?
The LDS official website offers free access to this important work, yet the website doesn't give access to the entire JST. It gives free access to the entirely of every other scripture held sacred by the LDS (including some not mentioned in the "Summary of Beliefs"), and the JST is similarly expurgated in it's printed form. Why does the Church of Jesus Christ, Latter-Day Saints withhold this important scripture from it's members? Or at least make the appropriate changes to Article 8 to reflect the JST's existence?
For what it's worth, the official website says this about the use of the word "translation" as it applies to the JST:
"Because the Lord revealed to Joseph certain truths that the original authors had once recorded, the Joseph Smith Translation is unlike any other Bible translation in the world. In this sense, the word translation is used in a broader and different way than usual, for Joseph’s translation was more revelation than literal translation from one language into another."
Even with a supposedly restored and properly translated Bible, the LDS church still insists on offering a disclaimer that they don't know if the Bible (KJV, JST, or otherwise) is translated correctly or not. Not exactly the kind of assuredness I'd expect from an organization led by a prophet.
Well, if I were you, I wouldn't join.
And since you're not me, it's only fair to ask if you yourself did join?
No need. I was never coming apart.
No. It is not.
This is yet another Christian bashing thread in the General Chat forum.
svcw, you are going to have to start making some sense.
You said:
“The LDS bible contains the same Old & New Testament as any Protestant church. The Christ of the LDS is described in that New Testament.”
I will re-paste my link below. Please understand that my dispute is with a newcomer to Christianity being told that Christ killed people. You may be OK with that, but I think that such is a false teaching and should be called out. To me that is quite different than pointing out the differences between a Baptist and a Methodist.
3 Nephi 9:15 on the LDS site begins with “Chapter 9 -
In the darkness, the voice of Christ proclaims the destruction of many people and cities for their wickedness”
https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/3-ne/9.15?lang=eng
Why hide from a newcomer that God cursed, and killed a great many Egyptians?
Why a cover up on Sodom & Gomorrah? Why deny the great flood?
You are correct a news story in general chart.
This can not be a Christian bashing thread, as one it’s a news story and two mormonISM is NOT Christianity.
How hard is that fact for you to grasp-mormonISM is not Christianity
mormonISM says their god was once a man
mormonISM says their christ is not eternal
What are talking about “the same”?
There is shame in your denial, and in that shame a recognition that bashing Christians is wrong.
Amazing! A mind-reader!
I agree, bashing Christians is wrong, which I do not do.
Christianity and mormonISM are not equal.
This thread is about trademark infringement, how you have escalated that apparently into Christian bashing is mind bending.
Once again mormonISM is not Christianity, no matter how much you scream it is.
I will critisize mormonISM anytime I choose, having lived with it since 1962, I know what I am talking about when it comes to mormonISM.
Why is the “small polygamous sect in British Columbia” not considered to be Christian?
Can't say they weren't warned!!!
*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.
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:
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
The upstart LDS bunch that has glommed onto Christianity and makes the claim that ONLY it is the TRUE church; is bit.... oops, complaining that someone ELSE is hanging onto THEIR apron strings??
How Ironic is THAT!!
Sorry. I will type more quietly. Was the all caps too much?
svcw...again, you are going to have to start making some sense
bashing Christians is wrong, which I do not do
You are in denial. Denial because of shame. Shame because of sin.
Go hug a Mormon Christian brother, and ask him to pray for you.
You don’t come here for the hunting; do you?
We praise thee; Infidel!!!
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