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.
Well I can’t make big letters like you, but look a smiley -—> :)
First we be NOT polygimme; then we BE polygimme, then we NOT be polygimme again! [Elsie]
Actually it was:
* First we be NOT polygimme; [Book of Mormon]
* then we BE polygimme, [Joseph Smith's mansion allowed easy shenanigans of convincing women to sleep with him under the guise of a "spiritual marriage" -- at a rate of about one-per-month in the latter three years of his life]
* then we NOT be polygimme again! [Well, there was a price to pay for Utah statehood...and the Mormons are cutthroats to their own sacred "principles" if they need to buy the acceptance of man]
But you forgot, Els, the ensuing rounds:
* then we BE polygimme (again) [Mormons-with-multiple spouses die, having been sealed to them both/all in the temple...now they are supposedly eternal polygamists!!!]
* then we NOT be polygimme again! (again) [Whatever "PR" needing to be broadcast to try to separate a Mormon from a fundamentalist Mormon...for example, just this past week with the designated Mormon media critic @ the Des News, Joel Campbell...ended his column mentioning the Vancouver Sun article on the Mormon temple with this line: "Of course, the Vancouver Sun won't let the 'Mormon fundamentalist' title die." So you see, just as Christians wonder when Lds are going to "let the 'Mormon Christian' title die," Lds wonder the same thing in reverse.]
* then we BE polygimme again! (again) [Yup, Lds apostle Bruce R. McConkie, in his book, Mormon Doctrine, says the Mormon jesus will re-institute polygamy when he returns to earth...all you Mormon women out there getting ready to share your husband with many wives??? No??? And you call yourself a real Mormon?]
Whoaa! (I guess this Mormon at least thought the cross was 100% irrelevant)
The book of Mormon is more correct than the Bible, (History of the Church, 4:461).
No matter (to Mormon leaders). Smith took to greatly editing the Bible; and Mormon leaders took to greatly editing the Book of Mormon. Mormons are perfectionists who say to God: "You've messed up this verse yet again, Lord. Here, let me correct it."
God used to be a man on another planet, (Mormon Doctrine, p. 321; Joseph Smith, Times and Seasons, vol. 5, p. 613-614; Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses, vol. 2, p. 345; Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, vol. 7, p. 333).
Well, we all know that Charlton Heston played both Moses and the astronaut in the Planet of the Apes movies.
I think Heston is the perfect icon for thinking about what image comes to the Mormon mind when they think "Who is God?" Not only is he Moses-like, but he's the astronaut man who came to a new planet, fell in love, etc.
It might surprise people to hear that Mormons are theologically liberal. They say, "What?"
But when you lift Scripture out of its original meaning, and twist it to mean anything you want, that's about as liberal as you can get.
Besides, three classes of glory? Isn't that classic class warfare? Pitting the "elite" vs. the lowly "ghettoites" in glory?
Mormon teen friend: "The devil was born as my elder brother. He's your elder brother, too."
Me: "OKayyy."
Mormon teen friend: "There was a bit of that sibling rivalry going on in heaven. Between the devil and Jesus."
Me: "Uh, Col. 1 and Heb. 1 says Jesus created Lucifer, not bicker back and forth as siblings."
Mormon teen friend: "Well, no mind. (We ignore the New Testament whenever it's convenient to do so)."
Me: "And how do you 'know' about this 'pre-existence' stuff?"
Mormon teen friend: "My 14-year-old friend who I testify about all the time told me."
Me: "Your 14 yo friend who you testify about?"
Mormon teen friend: "Yeah, well, that's the way I like to think about Joseph Smith when the 'personage' appeared to him. Anyway, he told us all about the pre-existence."
Me: "And you have no other sources for this original revelation other than your '14 yo friend?'"
Mormon teen friend: "No. So?"
Me: "Let me get this straight: Suppose your other 14 yo Mormon friend testifies to you that...
"...he saw a spaceship with well, just to make up a name, 'Kolob' decals land in his backyard,
"...and the beings that emerged from this ship told him they all [billions of them] were 'born' from this one goddess who had countless sex acts with the head god of their planet,
"...but that it wasn't really the beginning of their life when they born as spirits, 'cause they had already existed as 'spirits' and 'intelligences,'
"...but the birthing process into spirit-beings helped their universal spiritual development,
"...which was then further refined when their spirits were sent to inhabit bodies down here on planet earth,
"...and even though they were sent down as perfect beings,
"...it further spiritually gelled their spiritual evolution into gods and gods-in-embryo to disobey their head god and bring sin, murder, death, decay, rot, war, abuse, conflict, hostility, rape, porn, abortion, mayhem, assault, you-name-it...
"...and all of this should be 'celebrated' because it, after all, it finally allowed these beings to have sex and pro-create and evolve into future gods???"
"I mean what if your other 14 yo teen friend told you all THAT today???"
Teen Mormon friend: "Oh, you've read Mormon 'scripture' and Mormon doctrines, too?"
Resty would LOVE to turn FR into a subsidiary of the mormon church owned Deseret News, LOL.
So in any words “we are shutting down debate because we are being hung by our own words and we don’t want anyone to know what we really believe unless it is presented as sweetness and puppies”.
But she dutifully posted what someone fed to her. Whomever that coward is, it is yet another proof that Mormonism is deceit at its core.
Either that, OR...the real "resty" typed his usual pap and forgot to run it through the online MTC "resty misspelling and ungrammatical deception translator" before posting it.
mormonic gods, gods of gods, grandpa gods, great grandpa gods,
eternally pregnant goddess and grandmother godesses,
gods we worship and gods we don’t worship - placemarker!
Desert: strawberries marinated in late harvest Riesiling port served over vanilla bean ice cream.
You’re liking that vanilla bean ice cream ;)
SURE you <BIG><BIG><BIG>can!!!</BIG></BIG></BIG>
(Each {big} kicks up the font size by 1.)
<SMALl><SMALl><SMALl>can!!!</SMALl></SMALl></SMALl>
can!!!
Well; what can you expect from only a GRAFTED-in AntiMormon?
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