Where Joseph got his idea for the BoM...
SOME folks complaining about something or other...
SOME one complaining about lack of sincerity...
SOME one figuring out why TCOJCOLDS brags about not paying their 'clergy' any money...
Posted on 02/24/2014 7:28:13 PM PST by restornu
Miraculous claims surrounding the coming forth of the Book of Mormon are an evidence of the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith. Critics intent on discrediting the Restoration point to DNA studies on indigenous American peoples in an attempt to expose Joseph, the Book of Mormon, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as frauds. Claiming that scientific evidence excludes any possibility that Middle Eastern or ancient Jewish travelers came to the Americas in antiquity, such critics attempt to sow seeds of doubt in the minds of Latter-day Saints and those of other faiths concerning the authenticity of the Book of Mormon as an ancient religious text.
Are these studies credible? Do the data actually show what the critics claim? Do they discredit the Book of Mormon, or is there biological and other scientific evidence that supports the claims that it is indeed an ancient record of a people that once inhabited the Americas?
The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR) interviews scholars and scientists to answer these important questions and reveals the faith-affirming truth that not only are the critics' conclusions and methods flawed, but that there is credible scientific evidence in favor of the Book of Mormon as an ancient religious text.
...the Mormons have done that..
...the presidential campaign of Mormon Church founder Joseph Smith in 1844: “Challenging Democrat James Polk and Whig Henry Clay,
Smith prophesied that if the U.S. Congress did not accede to his demands that ‘they shall be broken up as a government and God shall damn them.’
Smith viewed capturing the presidency as part of the mission of the church.
what IS it with these LDS 'leaders?
Always DAMNING someone!!!
Yeah...
...like THAT's gonna happen!
And, according to YOUR chosen religion, they are ALL whores.
If ANY of you MORMONs, reading this, have any info at all where TCOJCOLDS has retracted or changed it's mind about this, I'd like to know.
I'd sure HATE to be spreading false info about your chosen religion.
Good luck!
They can't even provide MPORMON ones!
Please provide Biblical references for your claims.
Good luck!
They can't even provide MORMON ones!
She gets riled up from time to time.
It’s good to see that others ARE reading along!
:-),
Thanks GF
I didn’t recognize any of that as the Jesus or His church that I know..
The LORD Jesus Christ of the Christian Bible never has put His name on any building or shady business..
The LORD Jesus Christ of the Christian Bible calls His church “My Bride”
oh is that what that post was about...
You say this in the “name” of Jesus, yet I don’t see you reverencing or even referencing Jesus, more like you are reverencing the “church”...
Why do mormons have to pay an entrance fee to return to Jesus and God?
Why do mormons have to engage in unBiblical practices in temples all in the name of returning to said Jesus and God?
Why do mormons misrepresent the function of certain items in OT temples to justify the unBiblical practices occurring in LDS temples?
When there’s no mention of the Cross its not the Jesus of the Bible..
The New Agers often use a spirit guide they call jesus ..
Mar 1, 1842 - For the first time an account of Joseph Smith’s first vision is published, appearing in the TIMES AND SEASONS which publishes his official account April 1. This account is in a letter to John Wentworth: “I retired to a secret place in a grove and began to call upon the Lord, while fervently engaged in supplication my mind was taken away from the objects with which I was surrounded and I was enwrapped in a heavenly vision and saw two glorious personages who exactly resembled each other in features, and likeness, surrounded with a brilliant light which eclipsed the sun at noon-day. They told me that all religious denominations were believing in incorrect doctrines, . . .” Joseph later tells of the September 21, 1823 visit of “a personage [who] stood before me surrounded with a glory . . .I was informed that I was chosen to be an instrument in the hands of God to bring about some of his purposes in this glorious dispensation. I was also informed concerning the aboriginal inhabitants of this country and shown who they were, and from whence they came, a brief sketch of their origin, progress, civilization, laws, governments, of their righteousness and iniquity, and the blessings of God being finally withdrawn from them as a people was made known unto me . . .” In spite of this some LDS apologists dealing with Native American DNA studies later claim that all of Joseph Smith’s statements concerning the origin and ancestry of Native Americans are only his “opinion.”
A letter to the local Mormons from one who escaped the clutches of Mormonism in January, 2011...this man was a Mormon bishop in Cornwall, England..
“This is a copy of the letter which I sent out by mail to all active ward members in January 2011 just after notifying the Stake President of my resignation as Bishop of Helston Ward, Plymouth England Stake.
I felt they needed to know the truth about my resignation from myself, because rumours can & did start to spread so quickly.
I truly loved the members of the Helston Ward. The relationships I had with them felt like strong family ties.
As a consequence of my love & concern for each of them I wrote this letter.
They deserved to know I loved them & despite my change of beliefs was determined to continue to be their friends!
The Europe Area Presidency were not well pleased & demanded my silence.
I obliged under duress (threat of excommunication) in order to protect my extended family and friends’ feelings.
Time has healed hurts to some extent & allows me now tell the truth as I initially wanted.
Dearest brothers and sisters
Firstly, may I express my deep and abiding love for all of you. I have always enjoyed our association with each other in the Church. And hope that will continue.
For most of you, our relationship started when I was a young child, for others we became acquainted later, but our relationship feels just as sweet and enduring. I have loved serving you all as your bishop these past seven years. It has been the most wonderful time of my life. There have been challenges which we have worked through, but there has been an abundance of beautiful and memorable experiences.
It is with heartfelt regret that I write to you at this time. I want to inform you of a decision I have taken which not only affects me, but everyone in Helston Ward. By doing this I realise my decision will cause an emotional upset for most of you which I can truly empathise with as I have had to endure the emotional turmoil personally for over six weeks as I fought to discover the truth.
I have resigned from my calling as bishop of Helston Ward due to realising that my testimony was based on a false premise.
I realise this will shock you. It has truly shocked me how quickly a testimony of the Church can unravel when Joseph Smith’s divine calling as God’s prophet is undermined by learning the truth about him.
I have come to believe over the last month that there are so many inconsistencies and problems with the historicity of the Book of Mormon, as well as the divinity of Joseph Smith’s calling as prophet, that I can no longer, in good faith, fulfill my calling as Bishop of Helston Ward.
I have not come to this decision lightly. I am resigning as bishop after much careful study, prayer and thought over a period of almost two months. During that time I have desperately tried to find out that what I had recently discovered about the Church was a malicious and fictitious lie. But the more I studied the more evidence of a cover-up I discovered.
What I found has hurt me deeply and has made me realise that the sweet feelings of the spirit I believed were associated with the truth were actually misplaced.
My testimony of the Church has been found wanting. What hurt most was discovering that I had gained a testimony of things as they were made to appear, rather than the truth.
I was hurt by discovering that prophets in times past were “economical with the truth”, at best, in order to protect the Church and this practice continues to this day.
Let me reassure you I am not resigning as a result of sin, or weakness or being offended by anyone. I loved the gospel and the Church, and loved serving you as your bishop.
It hurts me to even think the Church I have sacrificed so much of my life for could be untrue. When I think of the time, physical & emotional effort, money and all the sacrifices I have made as a diligent member, I just can’t believe I am now thinking it was for a false premise.
But, I have just come to the inevitable conclusion, when faced with indisputable evidence, that I would rather accept the uncomfortable truth than a comforting fantasy.
I dedicated my life to serving my Saviour and his children, but my integrity and honesty forces me to follow the truth, as painful as it is, rather than live a lie.
President J Reuben Clark said “If we have the truth, it cannot be harmed by investigation. If we have not the truth, it ought to be harmed.”
After having gone through the emotional turmoil of coming to terms with the fatal flaws in the Church, I am now beginning to enjoy the benefit of being able to think more clearly and am starting to feel the joy of knowing more truth.
The most important question every member needs to ask is: “If the church is not true would I want to know?” Only then can one be open-minded to truth.
Please don’t think that I, in any way, am doing this with the intention to hurt anyone. It pains me deeply to think that my decision will make anyone suffer.
Please accept my sincerest apologies for any pain caused by this decision.
Know that I love and respect you and hope you can understand my decision and the reasons why I have made it.
All the best on your journey.
Love
Steve Bloor
Wow, very revealing.
“Demanded silence”, where is the love with that statement.
We read on FR quite frequently, there are no threats, no shunning, yet those of us who know mormonISM know that to be untrue.
mormonISM is a sad state.
There many versions of the first vision.
I know for a fact, if I believed I was visited by God, or Jesus, or John the Baptist - I would remember every detail of the event -every detail and my recounting would never change.
Yes and if I was told by God in 1823 that “all religious denominations were believing in incorrect doctrines, . . .” I sure wouldn’t disobey God like Joey Smith did and join the Methodist Church and the Palmyra Presbyterian Church 15 years later..
and if Id had a visitation by God like Smith describes I sure wouldn’t go back to sheep stealing on the way home from the magical grove like Smith did..
Simple minded Smith didn’t seem to have a good memory did he ???
Reciting the cult mantra eh?
Just pitting lipstick on a pig doesn’t make the pig a princess - so too doesn’t make Mormonism true.
but no mention of the Cross..
without the Cross its not Christianity..
Mormonism is just another secular humanist religion..
The church has no debt
_________________________________
How would you know ???
are you privy to the books ???
How do you know what the Mormon business does with the money they swindle of the gullible ???
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