[Jeff Head]

I am LDS (card carrying so to speak) and have never felt unwelcome here. I simply refuse to partipate in bashing others, or participating in arguements over faith.

I bear my estimony of Jesus Christ and Him crucified, which should unite most of us irrespective of denomibantion and try and join with others to fight the pressing evils of the day that seek to destroy our very way of life.

I proudly join with Jim in that fight, despite the fact that he does not share or believe the other tennants of my faith. if we can agree on Jesus Christ and Him crucified and our utter dependence on His grace and atonement, then we can fight the evil of the day together and I roprefer to do that rather than endlessly argue points of less importance.

Belief in Jesus Christ’s dealings with Joseph Smith and the other leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a matter of faith.

As with all christians, our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified and resurrected, and His atonement for our sins, which is a free gift if we will accept it...is the key and principle issue which over-rides all others.

I would agree on this most critical tennant and join together shoulder to shoulder with all my other Christian friends of all denominations to jointly fight the pressing evils of the day that threaten our Republic and way of life.

...and avoid contention amongst ourselves which serves to weaken us in the fight for our society, and not push on the other issues where we differ in interpretation or other principles which are in the end, of less consequence than our joint, sincere belief in Jesus of Nazareth, born in Bethlehem and Savior of all mankind, the only path and gate through which any of us may return to our Father in Heaven.

[Ripliancum]

“I am LDS (card carrying so to speak) and have never felt unwelcome here. I simply refuse to partipate in bashing others, or participating in arguements over faith.

I bear my estimony of Jesus Christ and Him crucified, which should unite most of us irrespective of denomibantion and try and join with others to fight the pressing evils of the day that seek to destroy our very way of life.

I proudly join with Jim in that fight, despite the fact that he does not share or believe the other tennants of my faith. if we can agree on Jesus Christ and Him crucified and our utter dependence on His grace and atonement, then we can fight the evil of the day together and I roprefer to do that rather than endlessly argue points of less importance.

Belief in Jesus Christ’s dealings with Joseph Smith and the other leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a matter of faith.

As with all christians, our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified and resurrected, and His atonement for our sins, which is a free gift if we will accept it...is the key and principle issue which over-rides all others.

I would agree on this most critical tennant and join together shoulder to shoulder with all my other Christian friends of all denominations to jointly fight the pressing evils of the day that threaten our Republic and way of life.

...and avoid contention amongst ourselves which serves to weaken us in the fight for our society, and not push on the other issues where we differ in interpretation or other principles which are in the end, of less consequence than our joint, sincere belief in Jesus of Nazareth, born in Bethlehem and Savior of all mankind, the only path and gate through which any of us may return to our Father in Heaven.”

Thank you Jeff, that was well said. As this thread is about Joseph Smith, I would add this statement from him.

“The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.”
Joseph Smith—History of the Church, 3:30.

[Utah Binger]

Certainly Jeff you are entitled to your special beliefs regarding your religion of choice. Please respect the rest of us who do not believe that Free Republic is a Missionary venue for Mormons. I do not come here to do battle with the likes of you or your compatriots but find it very humorous when you all keep it up. And continually in a public forum think it necessary to bear testimony?

Is this a formal missionary calling to come here and do battle? Please be honest.

[WVKayaker]

Jeff, I love you and have spent many hours praying for your healing. I will now add a prayer for your salvation from the ignominy of Mormonism! That religion is offensive to Christ!

Joe Smith will not be making any decisions concerning salvation, nor will any man become a god. Mormonism is teaching heresy. Sorry!

Romans 16: 7 I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. 19 Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. - NIV

[Buddygirl]

Jeff,
If you are a born again Christian, why do you hang out with the Mormons? I like you. I wish to call you my brother. The Mormon theology is different from the orthodox Christian theology. Mormon prophecies have not come true. If you truly have been born again, you will not associate with a religion that is off.

Just sayin’.

[MARTIAL MONK]

UTAH!

•

•

•

• Utah is a beautiful state.

It’s Reagan country.

• That’s 72.77% for Reagan in 1980.

Utah is one of the few states that should never be asked for bona fides, either Republican or conservative. Ever. Conservatism is in the blood. It’s the nature of the critter.

If you want to see the cutting edge of conservatism in the same place as a mature vision of a conservative society just take a tour of Utah. It’s an ultra-modern state where traditional values have never skipped a beat. This is what the Republican Party is all about.

In the 1980’s the Republican Party was full of bright young kids rarin’ to go, to build a life, raise their families, to make an America that they could be proud of. We set the world on fire with those kids. All we did was to get out of their way. Today those kids are greyer, rounder, slower and much of the fire is gone from the belly. Their replacements aren’t much. Daily I see young tradesmen who have to bring their girlfriends along to read or understand the simplest of forms. They have no ambition beyond “gittin’ a job”.

Some time ago some of us became worried about the quality of leadership coming up through the ranks and we set about trying to find out what happened to those bright young folks and why. We found them, they are just not as numerous and they have shifted their sights upward. They are now in international banking, in high tech, in medical research. Most are as conservative as Goldwater and living quietly in a society that has seemingly rejected that conservatism. It is our intent to open doors and get these folks pipelined into leadership positions.

There is also a geographic bias. The Dakotas and Nebraska have disproportionate share for their populations. Colorado is good, as is West Texas or Wyoming. We are creaming the best of California. There is one state that stands out, though, and that is Utah. They are everywhere, young, confident, bright and ambitious.

This I what we are looking for:

•

States that can stand on their own and be states.

And this:

Young. Utah has the youngest population of any state. They are young and conservative, a combination that few states have.

Educated. The population coming up is young and well educated and they are doing it on one of the lowest budgets in the country.

Families. A new generation of conservative leaders. Utah is one of the fastest growing states and it is primarily internal growth. Intact families having children.

Utah is not an addendum to or an ally of the conservative movement, Utah is the heart and soul of it. The South was never part of the Reagan Revolution. Utah led it.

I am concerned that we may be alienating the most conservative state in the union. In 1980 I was in Arizona and sometimes Nevada during Reagan’s campaign. We didn’t have much to do, Reagan was our guy, and generally we were left alone except for the push to raise money. We would occasionally get a request to do something or other and of course we would have a meeting, usually at night after work. We would discuss who was going to do it, how we were going to pay for it, how it was to be done, etc. It was a good two week process. The Mormons had a separate organization that sometimes intersected with ours. We could hand them something at eight o’clock at night and at eight the next morning they would have people on the streets in Salt Lake, in Phoenix, in Reno, in Boise, in Helena and all points between. Without doubt they were the most enthusiastically Reaganite state in the union.

Take heart and may God Bless.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

“if we can agree on Jesus Christ and Him crucified “

But that is the rub, Jeff. Christians do NOT agree on
the Mormonic view of who Jesus Christ is. Christians
believe Jesus Christ has always existed as GOD - neither
created nor made, nor “birthed” by a Heavenly Mother God.
From there, the rest of the wheels fall off.

I am more than pleased to join hands to fight the good
cause as conservatives, but I’m not willing to pretend
we believe the same things or that they have moral equality
or that there is any truth in Mormonism, or to be silent
when mormons proselytize on FreeRepublic.

ampu