Posted on 03/01/2010 11:55:25 AM PST by NoRedTape
" Historically, only until recently have Mormons wanted to be called Christians, preferring not to be included with Christian denominations which Joseph Smith said were, "all wrong...all there creeds were an abomination in his sight, and that those professors (Christians) were all corrupt." (Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith, 2:18-19) In the past Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) have preferred to be called "saints." However, in the recent years the LDS church has spend millions in an intense public relations campaign aimed at moving their church into the mainstream of Christianity.
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First: Mormons do not follow or believe in the historic Jesus Christ of the Bible, but rather a different Jesus. This is why most biblical Christians emphatically insist that Mormons are not Christians. Let me explain..............
The god of the Mormons is not the God of the Bible.... "
(Excerpt) Read more at bible-truth.org ...
I have a stove, it is hot, I know it’s real.
Will you take my word for it?
So true. (Reno, you just had your hat handed to you). I can't tell you how many times Lds have told me that Lds 'prophets' are essentially bunglers like the rest of us; and that they don't always speak as 'prophets' (ironically when they're trying to speak as prophets...like from the tabernacle pulpit).
Any other prophet can (and does) just contradict them at will.
Bingo!
So beyond the first two points above, Reaganaut nails the next one, too.
Lds 'prophets' can't agree if God can eternally progress, or does He remain the same.
They can't agree if the 'living prophet' trumps canonized 'scripture.'
Or upon how many gods Lds are to worship
Or upon skin-color issues
Or upon group celestial marriage
Or upon the Mormon elohim's wife/wives
Or upon blood atonement, Adam as the Mormon god, etc.
When we review what Joseph Smith thought of himself as self-revelator/seer, we can see all the spiritual pride coming through. Look @ this statement, for example:
...those former revelations cannot be suited to our conditions; they were given to other people, who were before us..." (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Presidents of the Church, p. 195)
Well, wow! I gotta hand it to Smith. He knew how, at times, to be subtle in his condemnations & putdowns of the Bible. Here, he's just opened up a pathway to pick & choose any part of the Bible he wants to jettison. All he had to say was, "Nope, this part of the Bible isn't 'suited' for me. Only applies to other people. Why those 'revelations' are to be jettisoned. Bye-bye!"
That is the spiritual pride of a 'continual pick-and-choose-at-whim revelator': the ability to dismiss anything he wants to what is confirmed canonized Scripture.
Many pastors do get into verbal fights over doctrine however. And even though your pastor may not get into fist fights, many do. Ever payed much attention to what's going on over in Ireland? They not only get into fist fights, they kill each other! Christians!
How can that be when everything is so clearly laid out in the Bible? There should be no dispute right? With so many disputes in Christianity over authority, faith vs. works, women & gays in the priesthood, baptism, etc., etc., how can you prove indisputably that you have the truth?
Forget about what you believe about the LDS church, wouldn't it be far better to get your answers directly from the Lord as He has pleaded w/ us to do in the Bible, rather than relying on man's reasoning?
Simple reasoning alone is allowing Kosta50, a non believer, to leave Godzilla w/ a somewhat empty plate on some issues. Godzilla has proven very little to an unbeliever. We were meant to go by faith in this life. That doesn't however mean that we can't know truth.
But, that kind of knowledge will rarely if ever, come from man. A belief can come from man, but knowing gospel truth comes from the Lord. It's the only way we can know we're not being trumped by man. I can't prove my church is true any more than you can that yours is. For myself however, I can & do know. How? I asked the Lord, the author of all this.
He answered those sincere prayers, & for that I will be eternally grateful. I no longer have to wonder whether my weaknesses in the flesh will allow me to make the right decision. I spent a significant part of my life looking for the truth in most of the mainstream Christian churches. All told me they had the truth. The LDS church was the only one that taught me I didn't have to rely on the "arm of the flesh". I didn't gain my testimony from Joseph Smith, the BOM, the clarity of the Godhead, etc., although all those things added to my testimony.
Ultimately, my testimony came from the Lord. Because I asked. Simple, but powerful. The Ultimate proof!
Just a quick note before I go to enjoy the Sabbath.
You quote “those former revelations cannot be suited to our conditions; they were given to other people, who were before us...” (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Presidents of the Church, p. 195)”
Are you stating that all revelation is suited for our conditions? How about the law of Moses? Is that for our time & condition?
I’ve got a lot of positive things to do today. Best wishes a wonderful Sabbath.
The Orthodox occasionally brawl in the streets. In the first millennium, I believe that bishops were occasionally accosted when the laity had had enough of heresy. And I agree that scholars are not normally suited for providing theological or spiritual advice. It truly is a different field. When a man like Cardinal Ratzinger can combine the scholarly patristic study and understanding with not only administrative duties, but theological ones as well, and do them all very well, that is a man for the ages. We shall never know what the proceedings are during the selection of the next Pope, but this last enclave did better than any of we laity expected. And so has this current Pope. Emphatically so.
As Pilate said - what is truth? How do you know that it is truth? And how did you acquire it?
But, that kind of knowledge will rarely if ever, come from man. A belief can come from man, but knowing gospel truth comes from the Lord. It's the only way we can know we're not being trumped by man. I can't prove my church is true any more than you can that yours is. For myself however, I can & do know. How? I asked the Lord, the author of all this.
God talks to you? How do you know it's God? Lucifer is the most beautiful and most convincing creation of God. How do you know if it is not in fact a revelation to you, but your own mind supplying the 'words'?
The LDS church was the only one that taught me I didn't have to rely on the "arm of the flesh". I didn't gain my testimony from Joseph Smith, the BOM, the clarity of the Godhead, etc., although all those things added to my testimony.
Ultimately, my testimony came from the Lord. Because I asked. Simple, but powerful. The Ultimate proof!
Street preachers and televangelists and jihadists all testify exactly the same as you. What is the difference between your 'truth' and their 'truths'?
The LDS church was the only one that taught me I didn’t have to rely on the “arm of the flesh”.
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Funny he could have read the Christian Bible and found that one...
it was written centuries before Joey Smith plaguarised it...
This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on the arm of flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. Jeremiah 17:5
See what happens when the mormons are ordered to not read and believe the Bible ???
They think all of God’s wisdom began with Joey Smith ...
Thats how a cult works...gets you to depend on man and not God...
heres some more he didnt know was in there ...
For the word of the LORD holds true, and we can trust everything He does. Psalm 33:4
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him and He will do this: Psalm 37:5
This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my fortress, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust Him. Psalm 91:2
It is better to trust the Lord and take refuge in Him than to trust in man. Psalm 118:8
This last one describes why Joey Smith didnt live a long healthy life......
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Proverbs 3:5-8
OK....
To whom was IT written?
Sigh...
Take of your other posts.
No; It's JS that convince his followers to do this.
"As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men."
Acts 17:10-12
Ain't making up possibilites FUN!!
I should try it!
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No; you did not.
What you showed was another of your opinions posing as facts.
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