Posted on 04/15/2010 8:56:50 AM PDT by T Minus Four
Think of the Salt Lake Temple as a designer bottle holding a one-of-a-kind fragrance.
Think of the gardens and buildings of Temple Square as bubble wrap around that container.
Think of the City Creek Center to the south, the Church Plaza to the east, the Conference Center to the north, and the Family History Library and Church History Museum to the west as a firm, sturdy box around all of it.
When something merits that much protection, you have to figure rough bumps and bounces are coming down the road.
I get a feeling the LDS Church sees turbulence ahead -- nasty weather -- and it is making preparations.
It's not about being defensive and keeping things out.
It's about being protective and keeping precious things safe.
When the chilly winds blow, forest creatures gather all that's life-sustaining about them.
Horses in the fields cluster together to stand against the hail.
I feel the LDS Church battening down the hatches for bad weather.
The Tabernacle Choir, which was performing musical versions of Robert Frost poetry and other secular works, now releases CDs filled with songs of faith, assurance and the need to rely on the Divine.
I feel protection is the point behind the long row of sentries -- those Mormon temples -- that stand along the Wasatch -- the new Brigham City temple, new Payson temple, the new remade Ogden temple and all the others.
I feel protect precious things is the point of the new mission statements of LDS businesses, the point for books that are picked for publication and the lessons selected for manuals.
Part of the world would divide and conquer.
The church would gather and protect.
Something uneasy this way comes. Not a vilent clash as in Jerusalem -- where cultures fight openly. We won't be seeing stone throwers in the streets of Salt Lake City.
The battle here won't be about territory.
It will be about choices -- about the advent of a bolder, more self-indulgent popular culture.
The church can see the writing on the wall -- often literally.
And graffiti on the temple will never do.
It's time -- as the old hymn has it -- to "safely gather in, ere the winter storms begin."
The plan is not to force people away.
The plan is to keep what's on the inside safe from harm.
And if that means putting up ramparts and watchtowers, so be it.
Even heaven, if you believe the stories, is a gated community -- not to keep people away, but to safeguard the gentle hearts of those who dwell there.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- E-mail: jerjohn@desnews.com Jerry Earl Johnston chronicles his take on the Mormon experience in his column “New Harmony,” which appears on MormonTimes.com on Wednesdays and Sundays.
“the son of pedition Joey Smith...”
I remember reading a story in the Old Testament about a man of God who was bald and these bratty little boys called the Man of God names and teased him. Since you are such a great Bible scholar, I’m sure you know what happened to the bratty little boys.
Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, called to restore the Church of Jesus Christ on the earth in these latter days. We have a living Prophet on the earth today. I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is what I believe.
I have no idea why you take such strange pleasure in bashing my heart-felt faith.
You are correct. Jesus is the firstborn of the spirit children, Lucifer was second, Adam and the patriarchs and smith next, and so on.
Jesus was chosen to be the Savior rather than Satan because He said we could have free will and Lucifer was against that, He wanted to make everyone obey so God chose Jesus over Lucifer and then Lucifer rebelled and took 1/3 of the spirit children with him.
To the LDS ‘demons’ attack humans because they are denied progression by getting a human body. Angels are resurrected beings or occasionally spirit children who don’t have bodies yet, but usually resurrected beings.
Also, according to LDS leaders, if you were born Mormon, a convert, white, Native American or black depends upon how much on God’s side (valiant) during the war in heaven. More than one leader taught that Blacks were (fence sitters) which is why they had the ‘curse of Cain’.
And before I am called a liar by the usual suspects, I can source all of this with LDS sources. Feel free to ask.
Yes I remember that story...
Joey Smith was one of those bratty little boys...
he called the men of God names and God destroyed him...
Next ???
I have no idea why you take such strange pleasure in bashing my heart-felt faith.
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Because your “heart felt faith” is going to get you nowhere but to HELL and we don’t want to see that.
Sandy, Smith was a fraud. He wasn’t a prophet. You have been deceived by Satan into believing lies. No matter how ‘heart felt’ you faith is, it is a false faith, at odds with the Bible.
I want to see you, and all LDS, on their knees at the foot of the Cross crying out to Jesus to save them, and repenting of the heresies they espouse, not relying on feelings or being a member of a church.
Too bad you dont know the REAL Jesus of the Christian Bible...
Then you would know that its impossible for Him to have ever lost, misplaced, dropped His Church or allowed anyone to steal her ...
and have her needed to be “restored” by the pagan son of pedition Joey Smith or anyone else...
Your mormon jesus was be a weak sickly little twerp with ADD..
No wonder theres such a need for mind altering narcotics in Utah...
“following the mormon lord”
Jesus was and is unlike any other any other of God’s offspring. He is the ONLY Begotten, so that makes different him from everyone else.
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You forgot ‘physically begotten’ there, Stretch.
“God destroyed him...”
Joseph Smith and his brother were murdered in cold blood. You don’t believe in fair trials, I heard.
BTW the son of perdition Joey Smith did restore something though...
Joey Smith restore ancient barbarism but Briggy Young perfected it...
Gosh TOOOOOOOOO bad...
The false prophet Joey Smith is just like his mormon jesus..
Not able to get it together...
Sandra, JS was killed in a gun battle. You can not be “killed in cold blood” when you have a gun and shooting at people.
Joey Smith may have been the one to kill his own brothewr...
he was handy with that gun in his hand...
Joey smith murdered 2 men in cold blood before he was taken down like the cur he was...
The law finally caught up with the convicted criminal joey Smith...
I am really going to stop engaging in discussion due to the fact many of you think it is ok to diminish the spelling of the Lord name using small letter towards the LDS faith and the Godhead.
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Oh THAT IS RICH, considering the LDS and even you, fail to capitalize He/His when speaking about God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit and consistently capitalize ‘church’.
But your concern is if we capitalize the initials of your church. OY.
Jesus was and is unlike any other any other of God’s offspring.
_________________________________________
God doesnt have “offspring”
“Other than that of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Church has continued in growth. For 150 years.”
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Only because the fudge the numbers and change how they report the numbers. Someone did an analysis of the number game on here once. Anyone remember who it was?
Even the LDS church itself admits it is at a zero growth rate.
In mormonism its the dead dunking in the so called “church” building that saves not the Blood of the Christian Jesus...
Mormoniosm is a cult...
mormonism is not Chrsitianity...
The flds are the true mormons and the SLC lds are an off shoot...
If i spared them any respect it would bew for the flds...
At least they live them mormons creeds...
the SLC lds are just poor wannabe relatives...
The true mormons dont want them so the pester the Christians...
Going down in a gunfight isn’t being killed in cold blood, nor is it a martyrdom.
I don’t condone murder at all, but I also hate the pedestal the LDS put Smith on, and the disrespect they show REAL martyrs by claiming Smith was one. REAL martyrs don’t fight back.
Smith was in jail for destroying a printing press that outed his polygamy, not for Jesus.
C’mon Sandy, just cut the losses and come to a REAL relationship with Jesus and not that cult.
BTW, is your husband LDS?
As of 1999, LDS had about 11 million members world-wide, with a slight majority living outside the U.S. They exceeded 12 million in early 2004.
Their end-of-year statistical report for 2005 shows:
A total membership of 12,560,869 members including 52,060 full time missionaries.
2,701 stakes, 643 districts, 341 missions and 27,087 wards and branches. 122 temples are in operation, including temples dedicated during 2005 at San Antonio, TX; Aba Nigeria; and Newport Beach, CA. 2,3
There are 5.7 million LDS members in the U.S., 3 million in South America, 1 million in Mexico, 448 thousand in Europe, 404 thousand in the South Pacific, and 172 thousand in Canada. 4
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It doesn't say it here of course but lds keep their members on their rolls until the person is to believed to be 110 years old. In addition, if or when you leave your name still remains on the lds rolls, it is difficult to have your name removed.
Well, thank goodness they didn’t throw water on him.
“God destroyed him...”
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Yeppers thats right...
now youre getting it...
The son of pedition Joey Smith boasted that he was greater than the Chrsitian Jesus...
So god got rid of him..
God killed the false prophet Joey Smith for doing what Lucifer did, try to usurp the throne of Jesus...
God picked lucifer up by his hairy white leg and tossed him out of Heaven...
God picked the prophet of Baal, joey Smith up by his hairy white leg and tossed him out of the Earth...
Now ya can boast that you’ll get up on the roof and shout out yer boasting one day and then never do it...
But ya dont boast you are better than God and get away with it..
“I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him, but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet.”
(Joseph Smith, May, 1844 Documentary History of the Church, vol.6, pp.408–409.)
One month later God killed that sorry son of perdition Joey Smith in a shoot out at the Carthage Jail...
Now since Joey Smith murdered several people, and two more at the jail, and the mormons believe that murder is never forgiven but the murderer goes to Hell forever, just on that one of his many crimes, the mormons believe that Joey Smith is in Hell forever...
Consistancy...
A proof of a sound mind...
Exactly. That water is REAL persecution according to some.
end eyeroll
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