Media the victim of source's spin

Mormon Times ^ | June 10, 2009 | Joel Campbell

[Colofornian]

The media continues to treat a genealogical researcher as a celebrity.

Helen Radkey likes to unearth misguided proxy baptisms performed by LDS Church members...

She has made it her vocation to research and then release her sensationalized findings to the media. The media in turn often print whatever Radkey has to say, drop in a quote from church public affairs and call it good journalism...

SNIP

While Radkey's facts may be accurate, it's her spin that often goes unchallenged.

As a member of the church, I find it disheartening that fellow members would submit names of unrelated people, including Holocaust victims and President Obama's mother, for sacred temple ordinances.

However, those decisions are based on misguided individual choice and action. For better or for worse, the church does not operate a centralized clearinghouse for submitting names for temple work.

Instead, it's an honor system that requires members follow policy.

SNIP

Radkey would have the world believe that there is some church conspiracy directed from church headquarters. That often turns into headlines that read "Mormon church baptizes Obama's mother." Take, for instance, her recent comment about her allegations in the Salt Lake Tribune that proxy baptisms were performed for deceased polygamist group leaders:

"The LDS Church appears to be reinventing its polygamous history, as it ushers excommunicated Mormon fundamentalists back into the LDS fold through a postmortem back door."

SNIP

Anti-Mormon group really news?

It's interesting that a reporter at the Colorado Springs Gazette thought an evangelical group that seeks to rattle the faith of Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses is newsworthy. Why does religious bigotry get ink? I guess if you organize your bigotry and give it a name, then it's news...

[Colofornian]

From the column: While Radkey's facts may be accurate, it's her spin that often goes unchallenged...her recent comment about her allegations in the Salt Lake Tribune that proxy baptisms were performed for deceased polygamist group leaders: "The LDS Church appears to be reinventing its polygamous history, as it ushers excommunicated Mormon fundamentalists back into the LDS fold through a postmortem back door."

Did you note this sly journalistic trick? This columnist, paid by an lds church-owned paper, first concedes researcher Radkey's "facts may be accurate..." but then quickly dismisses her latest claims as mere "allegations."

(Maybe he could have said "factual allegations?")

And since Campbell works for the church-in-the-know, couldn't he have placed an inside call to the Lds Proxy Baptism Dept. and double-check Radkey's latest news -- and either confirm or deny it -- instead of trying to leave them in the nether world of "allegations?"

(What? This journalist has forgotten how to be a journalist? Oh, and since he didn't make that phone call or write that e-mail -- or publish the results of any possible such communication -- we can all assume Radkey's research goes beyond the "allegation" angle)

[Domandred]

Instead, it's an honor system that requires members follow policy

The problem with honor systems is that people will break it, with good intentions or not-so good intentions.

I'm LDS but I think the Church has really got to put an actual procedure in place for posthumous baptisms to show that the person submitting the name can prove relationship. I'll even take distant relationship, but the ground work and such still has to be done and documented.

I don't have a problem with submitting a name ans someone else does it, but I do have a problem with names getting submitted with no documentation that they are actually a relative.

[Colofornian]

The problem with honor systems is that people will break it, with good intentions or not-so good intentions. I'm LDS but I think the Church has really got to put an actual procedure in place for posthumous baptisms to show that the person submitting the name can prove relationship.

Well, ya know, it might be helpful to outsiders if the Lds Church communicated that "dishonorable acts" committed against its "honor system" resulted in temple banishment or something along those lines. We don't need names. That's private. But what's the general policy for those who act against its system?

[Colofornian]

From the column: For better or for worse, the church does not operate a centralized clearinghouse for submitting names for temple work.

Why not? Because in reality, people are baptized into the Mormon church. What's so unique about that, you ask? (aren't all baptized folks baptized into their church denominations of their families?) Well, even tho many folks in Christian denominations think they are baptized into a certain church, that's just not a proper Christian understanding.

The reality of Christian baptism is that we're baptized into a person (Jesus Christ) -- not into a church organization.

Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? (Romans 6:3)

People "baptized into Christ Jesus" -- well, Jesus has that all properly recorded in the "Book of Life" mentioned in Revelation. People baptized into a mere man-made church organization? (Well, that man-made organization, when it portends to be a centralized genealogical clearing house, needs to extend its humungous bureaucracy to even a greater degree)

[Colofornian]

From the column: a reporter at the Colorado Springs Gazette thought an evangelical group that seeks to rattle the faith of Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses is newsworthy. Why does religious bigotry get ink? I guess if you organize your bigotry and give it a name, then it's news...

Campbell should talk. Has he ever read the first vision? (not to mention what all the other Lds "prophets" & apostles have said about Christians & Christianity?)

I think of all people in history, Joseph Smith, Jr. ranked among the most ambitious grave-diggers who ever lived. When you review his "first vision" of unnamed personages visiting him (see Joseph Smith, History 1 in the lds "scriptures" Pearl of Great Price), he pronounced the number of properly available churches to join as "0" -- these "personages" told him ALL these churches were completely wrong.

So what? Campbell doesn't think Christians just might want to respond to that intolerant attitude of Smith's?

Now to emphasize, Smith didn't say Christian sects were somewhat offbase or slightly wrong...
...but entirely wrong -- as in 100%.

He boldly proclaimed their creedal score was also "0."
He called ALL their/our creeds to be an "abomination."
Smith said not a single creed passed his muster. (Yet, I dare any contemporary Mormon to tell me a single thing "wrong" or abominable with the Apostles Creed...keep in mind that "catholic" in that context meant ONLY "universal.")

Smith realized to be accepted he needed to dig the deepest grave ever. He needed an ambitious "scorched earth" visionary policy. He needed to portray every single Christian...
...church as "wrong",
...creed as "abominable,"
...denomination/sect as apostate,
...Christian professing believer as "corrupt"

[Source: Pearl of Great Price, Joseph History 1 vv. 18-20...count all the "all" words Smith uses]

Why Smith's scorched-earth policy?

...'Cause if he left a single church, creed, sect or believer intact, well, he would simply be unwarranted, redundant, superfluous. If the Christian church wasn't 100% apostate, why, no need for a "restoration" existed.

And so, with spade in hand, Joseph began digging.

About 40 years after revealing the above-mentioned vision, the next generation of Mormons took over the gravedigging exercise by placing this vision into Mormon "scripture."

And now, the generations since then have also placed spade in hand. Most Mormons, though, take spade in hand by their tithing and/or going on two-year mission trips. Their tithing allows Joseph Smith History 1 to be translated into dozens of languages and distributed world-wide. Their mission work allows the narrative of the 100% apostasy to be spread world-wide on millions of doorsteps and living rooms.

So the next time a Mormon tells you they don't go around "attacking" people of other faiths, ask them to read to you outloud Joseph Smith History 1 in the Pearl of Great Price. Ask them if their tithing $ goes for the printing, publishing, translating, and distribution of that narrative world-wide.

(Then thank them for personally calling you "corrupt" and an "apostate." 'Cause Jesus says we're to love those who oppose us -- including those who opposed Christianity before anyone knew of the word, "Mormon").

[Old Mountain man]

I guess if you organize your bigotry and give it a name, it’s news.

[Old Mountain man]

What business is it of yours?

[greyfoxx39]

Ping

[svcw]

It's interesting that a reporter at the Colorado Springs Gazette thought an evangelical group that seeks to rattle the faith of Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses is newsworthy. Why does religious bigotry get ink? I guess if you organize your bigotry and give it a name, then it's news. At least the reporter got a comment from the local stake president.

I found that statement form the article interesting. It is a complaint that a story about another faith and religious bigotry, yet the very story complaining is and of itself religious bigotry.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

“As a member of the church, I find it disheartening that fellow members would submit names of unrelated people, including Holocaust victims and President Obama’s mother, for sacred temple ordinances.”

It’s easy to understand, once it’s explained.

Think Celestial Amway.

God used to be like you
Someday, you can be like God
Do enough of the rituals and you can get your own planet -
IF you are male.
Female, best you can hope for is eternal pregnancy to populate
your male mormon god’s planet.

Those new spirit children will become part of your Celestial Downline.
Someday, they may have their own planet, their own worshippers, all under their downline, which is under YOUR downline.
This can happen for eternity.

As your downline of junior gods and eternally pregnant
goddesses grows, it will expand like a pyramid - an eternal
pyramid scam.

But, of course, this isn’t really true. Nothing in mormonism
is true. It is a heresy and a cult.

The Bible:

Never says you can become a god.
Never says you can have a planet.
Never even shows a single mormon temple ritual.
Never talks about spirit children.
Never talks about Mother God.
Never talks about reproducing gods.
Never encourages baptism of the dead, let alone commands it.
Never hints that the Gospel will be taken from the earth.
Never mentions holy, fluffy underwear.
Never talks about God being an exalted man.
Never teaches that there are multiple gods.
NEVER teaches that Jesus Christ was a created
Spirit Creature like Satan.

mormonism is a credible in the truth department as
Scientology, but without the aerobic exercise of
couch jumping.

[Colofornian]

Never says you can become a god. Never says you can have a planet. Never even shows a single mormon temple ritual. Never talks about spirit children. Never talks about Mother God. Never talks about reproducing gods. Never encourages baptism of the dead, let alone commands it. Never hints that the Gospel will be taken from the earth. Never mentions holy, fluffy underwear. Never talks about God being an exalted man. Never teaches that there are multiple gods. NEVER teaches that Jesus Christ was a created Spirit Creature like Satan.

Not only that, but none of those things are even taught in the Book of Mormon. So you can add to this list of things neither taught in the Bible or BoM:
NEVER teaches that eternal hell or outer darkness is a temporary spirit prison
NEVER teaches anything about a "telestial" degree of the glory -- Smith himself made up the word [and note the BoM says NOTHING about "three degrees of glory"]
Not only is the BoM silent about the degrees of afterlife, but about the alleged Mormon "pre-life" -- the so-called "pre-existence"
And where oh where in the Bible or BoM is it taught that individual family units & marriages are forever?
Oops. Just not there.

(And here the D&C taught that the Book of Mormon was the "fulness of the everlasting gospel" ... looks like it's the emptiness of the perverted "gospel")

[Elsie]

Media the victim of source's spin

Poor, old media!

Can't bother to fact check.

Ever' body picks on 'em!

Boo hoo... (they must have an old MORMON victim card in their collective pocket)

[Elsie]

(Yet, I dare any contemporary Mormon to tell me a single thing "wrong" or abominable with the Apostles Creed...keep in mind that "catholic" in that context meant ONLY "universal.")

How does FAIRLDS and FARMS do in showing the UNTRUE and ABOMIABLE things in the creeds?

[Elsie]

I guess if you organize your bigotry and give it a name, it’s news.

 

Yup; it's news all right: really OLD news!!

 

 

 

http://scriptures.lds.org/en/js_h/1/17#17

  17 It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!
  18 My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong)—and which I should join.
  19 I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: “they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.”
  20 He again forbade me to join with any of them; and many other things did he say unto me, which I cannot write at this time. When I came to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven. When the light had departed, I had no strength; but soon recovering in some degree, I went home. And as I leaned up to the fireplace, mother inquired what the matter was. I replied, “Never mind, all is well—I am well enough off.” I then said to my mother,

“I have learned for myself that Presbyterianism is not true.”

 

 

 

 

[Elsie]

What business is it of yours?

 

The 'business' of TRUTH.

 

MORMONism was started by either an ignorant, 14 yo farmboy's imagination, or by two LYING, Demonic spirits.

---

KJV

 Galatians 1:6-9

 6.  I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
 7.  Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
 8.  But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
 9.  As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
 

 

 

 

ANYBODY???

 

Like this fine looking fellow???

 

 

 

 

 

2 Corinthians 11:12-15

 12.  But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we.
 13.  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
 14.  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
 15.  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

 

 

Like THESE guys??

 

 

 

 

http://scriptures.lds.org/en/js_h/1/19#19

 

 

17 It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!

 

 

---

---

 

Ephesians 2:1-2 

1.  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

---

---

 

1 Corinthians 4:17
  For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.

 

1 Corinthians 11:2
   Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.

 

2 Thessalonians 2:15
   Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.

 

2 Timothy 1:13
   Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

 

2 Timothy 3:14-15
 14.  But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
 15.  And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

[Elsie]

(And here the D&C taught that the Book of Mormon was the "fulness of the everlasting gospel"

Aye!!

There's the rub!

Why doesn't the BoM actually CONTAIN the Restored Gospel®?

[Tennessee Nana]

As a member of the church, I find it disheartening that fellow members would submit names of unrelated people, including Holocaust victims and President Obama’s mother, for sacred temple ordinances.
__________________________________________

This has been happening for decades...

That’s a lot of “disheartening”

Not a whole lot of action to stop it...

[Tennessee Nana]

Why doesn’t the BoM actually CONTAIN the Restored Gospel®?
__________________________

Too secret...errr...sacred ????