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Posted on 07/29/2007 3:23:40 AM PDT by restornu
Our primary family worship service is called sacrament meeting. This meeting is held in our meetinghouses on Sunday and lasts approximately 70 minutes. Visitors are welcome to attend. It is common for families to attend, and we are accustomed to having children as part of the congregation.
A typical meeting would consist of the following:
Hymns: Religious songs sung by the congregation (hymn books are provided).
Prayers: Offered by local Church members.
Partaking of the Sacrament (Communion): The sacrament is passed to members of the congregation.
Speakers: Typically a meeting will have two or three assigned speakers.
We do not pass a plate to request donations as part of our worship services.
Additional Meetings
Visitors are also welcome to attend other Sunday meetings that precede or follow sacrament meeting: Sunday School classes are offered for each age-group, beginning with twelve year olds. Primary meetings consist of a group service and age-oriented classes for children three through eleven years of age. A nursery is available for young children, ages eighteen months to three years. Young Women meetings provide classes for those twelve through seventeen years of age. Relief Society meeting is for women, ages eighteen years and older. Priesthood meetings provide age-oriented classes for males twelve years and older. Sacrament meetings and other meetings may be conducted in differing sequences, depending on the preference of local leaders. This site displays the beginning time of the three-hour block of meetings and the starting time of sacrament meeting.
Appropriate Dress
Those who attend will most likely be wearing their "Sunday best," which may include suits, sport coats, and ties for the men and dresses or skirts for the women. Children also typically dress up for Sunday.
Helpful Information
Our local congregations are called wards (or branches). The spiritual leader of each ward is called the bishop (or the branch president for branches). He is a member of the congregation who has been asked to serve as a volunteer in this position. Because we have a lay ministry rather than paid clergy, all Church service is voluntary.
The real Methodists are. I’m a lay preacher and I threaten to preach on what Jesus said about divorce. Scares them to death.
Do you believe that Christ and Satan are brothers???
This seems to be one of the most popular charges in modern anti-Mormon literature.
Though Christ is the creator of this earth and our one and only Savior and is the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh, He shares something with us in that we are all spirit sons and daughters of God (Heb. 12:9; Acts 17:28; Numbers 16:22) as is Christ (see also Hebrews 1:5,6; Heb. 2:9-12; Matt. 12:50; Col. 1:15; Psalms 89:27; Romans 8:29; Rev. 3:14). Christ differs from us in that He alone was perfect, serving as was Co-creator with God and as Savior of all mankind (all who will accept Him). Yes, technically, Satan is the brother of Christ, but so are all of us and all the angels, both good and fallen. But anti-Mormons want to make this doctrine sound scary by leaving out the information that would explain our position, and suggesting that somehow we worship a false "Mormon" Christ who is like Satan. Ugh!
It's a Biblical doctrine that Satan was in heaven originally but fell from heaven. Here is an excerpt from the article "Satan" in Smith's Bible Dictionary:
Of the nature and original state of Satan, little is revealed in Scripture. He is spoken of as a "spirit" in Ephesians 2:2; as the prince or ruler of the "demons" in Matthew 12:24-26; and as having "angels" subject to him in Matthew 25:41; Revelation 12:7, 9; The whole description of his power implies spiritual nature and spiritual influence. We conclude therefore that he was of angelic nature, a rational and spiritual creature, superhuman in power, wisdom and energy; and not only so, but an archangel, one of the "princes" of heaven. We cannot, of course, conceive that anything essentially and originally evil was created by God. We can only conjecture, therefore, that Satan is a fallen angel, who once had a time of probation, but whose condemnation is now irrevocably fixed. As to the time cause and manner of his fall Scripture tells us scarcely anything; but it describes to us distinctly the moral nature of the evil one.
As for our common heritage with Christ as sons of God, the teachings of the Bible are clear. In Romans 8:14-18, I see Paul saying that our divine heritage from God is what makes it possible for humans to become "joint heirs with Christ." Though we may be potential "joint heirs," Christ is always and eternally our Savior.
Latter-day Saints also believe that Satan was a spirit being in the premortal existence that we all shared, who, as Revelation 12:7-9 describes, rebelled against God and was cast down to earth, with those angels (spirits) who followed Satan (see also Jude 1:6, 2 Peter 2:4). Lucifer (Satan) was in heaven and was "a son of the morning" (Isaiah 14: 12-15) who sought to usurp God's glory and throne, rather than follow God's will (see also Job 1:6, where Satan comes into an assembly among the sons of God - these sons of God, premortal spirit children, existed before the creation of the earth was completed, according to Job 38: 4-7).
Just as we see the potential for great goodness and great evil in humans around us, so has there always been such potential among the spirit children (Heb. 12:9) of God who are blessed with liberty to choose God and Christ or to choose evil. Satan chose the greatest evil possible and still works toward that end. That he was in heaven and was a "son of the morning" among the spirit beings there ("morning stars" in Job 38:7) makes his fall and his guilt and his eternal punishment all the more terrible. But our understanding of who Satan was and is - a fallen angel, by choice a total and complete enemy to God and Christ - does not make us unchristian, in my opinion. Nor does it give us any respect for that abominable being!
Simply saying that "Mormons think Christ and Satan are brothers" is a distortion of LDS doctrine - it is deliberately misleading. We see all of humanity and all of the angels - fallen as well as divine - as creations of God, spirit sons and daughters, given freedom to choose good (through Christ) or evil. Christ is obviously a Son of God, though much more completely than we are. He is also our Savior and even our Eternal Father in several ways. Our common relationship to those who are Good and those who are truly evil in no way impugns the Good or blasphemes God and Christ.
Obviously, Latter-day Saint doctrine is not derived from the popular teachings of mainstream churches, but I see it as being in harmony with the Bible, though others are free to interpret the Bible differently. But I hope you won't mistake differences in interpretation with a rejection of Christ, to whom I look for salvation.
bookmarked for later
I’ve run out of anti-nausea meds to take when the Mormonism apologetics spinning heats up. How do you manage to prevent dizziness from the incessant Mormonism spinning?
I doubt anyone really cares about that segment of belief. The LDS church has other beliefs that are so far-fetched, non-Mormons don’t believe they are actually beliefs of the Mormon Church.
It mentioned Proxy Baptism (Baptism of the Dead) to one of my Sunday School classes during a discussion on 1 Cor and the other teacher thought I made it up. But you are not alone. Prosperity Gospel is junk and it is VERY popular in churches today.
According to you..is Satan your/my brother?
Know what you mean....
FRegards,
Simply saying that “Mormons think Christ and Satan are brothers” is a distortion of LDS doctrine - you are deliberately trying mislead. ~ Osage Orange
Why do I say that is because your past action towards the LDS speak volumes.
Though Christ is the creator of this earth and our one and only Savior and is the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh, He shares something with us in that we are all spirit sons and daughters of God (Heb. 12:9; Acts 17:28; Numbers 16:22) as is Christ (see also Hebrews 1:5,6; Heb. 2:9-12; Matt. 12:50; Col. 1:15; Psalms 89:27; Romans 8:29; Rev. 3:14). Christ differs from us in that He alone was perfect, serving as was Co-creator with God and as Savior of all mankind (all who will accept Him). Yes, technically, Satan is the brother of Christ, but so are all of us and all the angels, both good and fallen. But anti-Mormons want to make this doctrine sound scary by leaving out the information that would explain our position, and suggesting that somehow we worship a false “Mormon” Christ who is like Satan. Ugh!
Excerpt from 242
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1873203/posts?page=242#242
Word spell ckeck is not my friend!:)
"Yes, technically, Satan is the brother of Christ, but so are all of us and all the angels, both good and fallen."
So what's so difficult in answering direct questions. Is, Satan your brother or not? For that matter, is Jesus your brother also?
Simply saying that “Mormons think Christ and Satan are brothers” is a distortion of LDS doctrine - you are deliberately trying mislead. ~
I'm doing no such thing...I'm just trying to understand your reasoning.
Why do I say that is because your past action towards the LDS speak volumes.
Please point out one of these past actions....
They are almost whirling dervishes, who get their “high” from spinning.
Divorce is a great evil. I very much appreciate those who understand that and take it on. Someone on FR recently posted that he rather disliked the individuals who went on about homosexuality being wrong, yet had no apparent problem with adultery. Right is right and wrong is wrong.
Forgive me if I giggle at the thought of a lay preacher. It conjures up images of Kentucky gentlemen in white suits settled into rope hammocks sippping mint juleps, whilst intoning sermons. As opposed to the standing up kind with more vim and vigour and fire and brimstone.
It’s just me. :)
But my position is that many give no care to how things of the Lord are tossed about.
Many mock and scron things they truly have no understanding of.
Some even will mock council given, and rename the council Milk before Meat as LYING FOR LORD that is an excerpt from a lecture which reference is not given.
1 Cor. 3
1 AND I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
Heb. 5:
12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
D&C 19:
22 For they cannot bear meat now, but milk they must receive; wherefore, they must not know these things, lest they perish.
There is order in the Lord's Kingdom line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little for proper spiritual digestion.
There are questions that should be asked before receiving meat!
The Question that should have been asked!
http://newsnet.byu.edu/video/18773/
You don't/won't/can't answer honest questions.
You accuse...but then when rebutted/questioned, back off that tact.
Then, you....resort to claiming I've "no understanding".
Bless your little heart....
thank you thank you
go on and enjoy you day!:)
The phenomenon is not limited to FR. Anti-Catholic bigotry is tolerated by many widely practiced by the MSM, the Hollywood culture, the Gay advocacy groups, Feminists, the Abortion industry, Communists AND many evangelical Christians. Talk about strange bed fellows.
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