Mormon Teachings

[Brutus1964]

A number of you have had questions regarding teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I think this deserves it's own thread. I would like it if this thread be devoted to questions and answers regarding actual church doctrine. I will leave my own opinions and speculations out of it as much as I can.


This thread is intended to be informational. I am not intending to convert you or to try and prove that my way is correct and everyone else's is wrong. Take what ever you want out of the posts and make up your own minds.

A breakdown of the beliefs of the Church structured into thirteen basic statements.
History of the Church, Vol. 4, pp. 535—541

1 WE BELIEVE in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

2 WE BELIEVE that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.

3 WE BELIEVE that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

4 WE BELIEVE that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

5 WE BELIEVE that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
6 WE BELIEVE in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.

7 WE BELIEVE in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.

8 WE BELIEVE the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.

9 WE BELIEVE all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.

10 WE BELIEVE in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.

11 WE CLAIM the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.

12 WE BELIEVE in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.

13 WE BELIEVE in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

 

[Brutus1964]

LDS article of faith: "We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel."

We believe that The Church or Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints hold's the keys of the priesthood and has sole power and authority given by Jesus Christ to administer the laws and ordinances required for exaltation. The ordinances that are required are Baptism by emersion, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, for men receiving the Priesthood. Receiving the Temple ordinances, and are sealed for time and all eternity to your spouse.

Every man and woman ever born regardless of status, religion, nationality, race, or creed will be given the opportunity to receive these blessing and ordinances. If you do not receive them in life then the work will be done for you after you are dead. This is done by proxy in the Temple of the Lord. You will be given ample opportunity in this life or in the spirit world after you die to either accept it or reject it. Those who reject it must remain in the spirit world and wait for final judgment were there all will bow down and confess that Jesus is the Christ. Then they too will be resurrected and placed in their Kingdom of Glory.

There are three Kingdoms of Glory. Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial.

The Celestial Kingdom is where you will dwell with God and become like him. You will forever increase into eternity with Him. This is reserved for those that accepted Christ teachings and obtained all the ordinances of the gospel in life, repent of their sins and endure to the end. Also, those that did not have the opportunity to accept Christ on earth and readily accept him in the spirit world will also be eligible.

The terrestrial Kingdom you will be separated from God the father, but will be visited by Jesus Christ himself. This will be reserved for those that either did not accept Christ in life but still lived good moral lives, and then accept him in the spirit world, Or those that did accept Christ in life but then did not live up to his teachings and repent of there all their sins.

The Telestial Kingdom is the 3rd degree of Glory. This kingdom you are separated from God the Father, and Jesus Christ, but will be visited by the Holy Ghost. This is reserved for those that reject Christ in this life and the next. They are the wicked who murder, and commit all manner of wickedness and reject Christ’s atonement

Then there is a kingdom of no glory called Outer Darkness. This is reserved for Satan and his spirits that rebelled against God in the war in heaven. It is also for those that commit the unpardonable sin of rejecting the Holy Ghost while in life. They are sons of perdition. They were the elect of God that had a sure knowledge of God and still rejected him. For them there is no Glory.

 

[okinrus]

The Celestial Kingdom is where you will dwell with God and become like him. You will forever increase into eternity with Him. This is reserved for those that accepted Christ teachings and obtained all the ordinances of the gospel in life, repent of their sins and endure to the end. Also, those that did not have the opportunity to accept Christ on earth and readily accept him in the spirit world will also be eligible.

First, Mormons not only believe that we can become like Christ(which is all Paul wrote concerning the topic) but also believe that we can become divine, correct? Second, following this doctrine, mormons believe Jesus is both divine and the son of the Father, not of one divine nature but of two, correct? Now the difference here could often be overstated. What a mormon calls divine is often not what a mainstream Christian would. But still, this departure is radically different from Jewish belief and early Christian belief.

 

[Brutus1964]

okinrus

This is correct. We believe in a Godhead consisting of God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. They are three distinct individuals, but one in purpose. God has a body of flesh and bone. Christ has a resurrected body of flesh and bone, the same that he showed his apostles after his resurrection. The Holy Ghost is a personage of Spirit and helps us to distinguish between right and wrong.

God the father is literally the father of our spirits and we lived with him as spirits before we came to Earth. Through our obedience to the Gospel and receiving the ordinances necessary for our exaltation we can live with God forever and become like him. Even though we will become like him, he will always be our Father. We will always worship him as such.

 

[mustafhakofi]

brutus:
LDS article of faith: "We believe that through the Atonement of Christ,"all mankind may be saved,(should this not read forced to be slaves) by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel."

Every man and woman ever born regardless of status, religion, nationality, race, or creed will be given the opportunity to receive these blessing and ordinances. If you do not receive them in life then the work will be done for you after you are dead.(if I dont want blessing and ordinances in life, why would I want blessing and ordinances in death)

This is done by proxy(( A person authorized to act for another; an agent or substitute.)but if I dont want it,and i dont want someone to act as my agent)in the Temple of the Lord. You will be given ample opportunity in this life or in the spirit world after you die to either accept it or reject it. Those who reject it must remain in the spirit world(this would be fine but you go on to say that you will force people to take the blessing and ordinances and to be slaves) and wait for final judgment were there all will bow down and confess that Jesus is the Christ.(or what, if I refuse your blessing and ordinances what happens)
I would be very interested in your churches answer

 

[slotty]

Why do mormons feel the need to stop me in the street and try to convert me? Who in the church instructs them to do this form of marketing? How many mormons are in the UK? Is LDS a cult? How do i know that your religion is the correct one?

 

[Brutus1964]

brutus:
LDS article of faith: "We believe that through the Atonement of Christ,"all mankind may be saved,(should this not read forced to be slaves) by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel."

Every man and woman ever born regardless of status, religion, nationality, race, or creed will be given the opportunity to receive these blessing and ordinances. If you do not receive them in life then the work will be done for you after you are dead.(if I dont want blessing and ordinances in life, why would I want blessing and ordinances in death)

This is done by proxy(( A person authorized to act for another; an agent or substitute.)but if I dont want it,and i dont want someone to act as my agent)in the Temple of the Lord. You will be given ample opportunity in this life or in the spirit world after you die to either accept it or reject it. Those who reject it must remain in the spirit world(this would be fine but you go on to say that you will force people to take the blessing and ordinances and to be slaves) and wait for final judgment were there all will bow down and confess that Jesus is the Christ.(or what, if I refuse your blessing and ordinances what happens)
I would be very interested in your churches answer

You already did accept God's plan once or you would not have a body right now.. Before we were born we all lived with God as spirits. He presented his plan for us to come to Earth, obtain a physicle body and return to him if we obey his commandments. He gave us free agency so you can choose to accept him or reject him while on Earth and even in the Spirit world after you die. However there will come a point that you must accept him then you will be reserected and given your final glory. You will then remember your pre-Earth life with God and come to a full understanding of what everything was all about.

 

[duendy]

You already did accept God's plan once or you would not have a body right now.. Before we were born we all lived with God as spirits.

d__Brutus...how do you KNOW this? all you have read is words from a book.

He presented his plan for us to come to Earth, obtain a physicle body and return to him if we obey his commandments.

d__see question above

He gave us free agency so you can choose to accept him or reject him while on Earth and even in the Spirit world after you die. However there will come a point that you must accept him then you will be reserected and given your final glory.

That dont make sense. first you'e given a choice--both 'physically' and 'spiritually'....yet in the end of this game one 'MUST' accept him?

so what was the POINT of this game in the first place?

at least the Christians keep to their dogmatic principles, ie., that you are either saved or damned. which makes some kind of sad sense to their trip

 

[Brutus1964]

Duendy

so what was the POINT of this game in the first place?

The point is that in our pre-Earth existence we were spirits and limited to what we could do or be. God has a perfect body of flesh and bone and he desired all of his children to have the same. He presented to us his Plan of Salvation that would allow us to obtain a body and if we have faith and obey him then we can return back to him.

 

[mustafhakofi]

You already did accept God's plan once or you would not have a body right now.. Before we were born we all lived with God as spirits. He presented his plan for us to come to Earth, obtain a physicle body and return to him if we obey his commandments. He gave us free agency so you can choose to accept him or reject him while on Earth and even in the Spirit world after you die. However there will come a point that you must accept him then you will be reserected and given your final glory. You will then remember your pre-Earth life with God and come to a full understanding of what everything was all about.

rubbish, Only in your opinion, but your not answering the question, I put and deundy repeated, your just pussy footing around it, admit it, it's enforced slavery.
in you religious book, you have no choice, it's enforced slavery.

 

[Brutus1964]

A number of you have had questions regarding teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I think this deserves it's own thread. I would like it if this thread be devoted to questions and answers regarding actual church doctrine. I will leave my own opinions and speculations out of it as much as I can.

This thread is intended to be informational. I am not intending to convert you or to try and prove that my way is correct and everyone else's is wrong. Take what ever you want out of the posts and make up your own minds.

 

[Brutus1964]

rubbish, Only in your opinion, but your not answering the question, I put and deundy repeated, your just pussy footing around it, admit it, it's enforced slavery.
in you religious book, you have no choice, it's enforced slavery.

No where along the way has God "forced" you to do anything. We have had the choice all along, even before we were born. How is the potential to be like God a form of slavery? Even if you fall short and reach the lowest Kingdom aside from Outer Darkness itself is a kingdom vastly superior than what we have now.

 

[Jenyar]

The point is that in our pre-Earth existence we were spirits and limited to what we could do or be. God has a perfect body of flesh and bone and he desired all of his children to have the same. He presented to us his Plan of Salvation that would allow us to obtain a body and if we have faith and obey him then we can return back to him.

"God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits inthroned in yonder heavens!...He was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did; and I will show it from the Bible." Joseph Smith, Jr., HISTORY OF THE CHURCH 6:305.​

But the Bible does not teach that God is a glorified man:

For I am God, and not man (Hosea 11:9)
God is not a man...nor a son of man (Num 23:19)
God is Spirit (John 4:24)

The Bible also says man was formed from the dust of the ground, and that this body received God's spirit (Gen. 2:7). How does this fit in with pre-existence?

 

[slotty]

Why do mormons feel the need to stop me in the street and try to convert me? Who in the church instructs them to do this form of marketing? How many mormons are in the UK? Is LDS a cult? How do i know that your religion is the correct one?

Did i not ask the right sort of questions? you said this was a thread for infomation on the LDS. This is what the mormons are like in the UK. People are accosted in the streets and bombarded by religious zealots quizing them about their beliefs. Why do mormons do this? I understand that they have been banned from a lot of places in Russia. Why?

 

[Brutus1964]

Slotty

Sorry I have been intending to answer your question but I have gotten busy. I am at work right now, and things have speeded up.

 

[Jenyar]

Mormons have a specific way of gaining converts known as "Friendshipping". The belief that one gains access to salvation through works might explain why it is so aggressively implemented.

 

[Truth51]

You already did accept God's plan once or you would not have a body right now.. Before we were born we all lived with God as spirits. He presented his plan for us to come to Earth, obtain a physicle body and return to him if we obey his commandments. He gave us free agency so you can choose to accept him or reject him while on Earth and even in the Spirit world after you die. However there will come a point that you must accept him then you will be reserected and given your final glory. You will then remember your pre-Earth life with God and come to a full understanding of what everything was all about.

I spot an inconsistency here. If God presented a plan to all of us living here, and we chose to accept it, why am I a christian? Are you saying Hitler followed God's plan by killing millions? If we knew that Mormonism was "The way", we would all be mormons, because we would know for sure there was a god. Otherwise we wouldn't be here.

 

[slotty]

Slotty

Sorry I have been intending to answer your question but I have gotten busy. I am at work right now, and things have speeded up.

OK dude, i'll wait. :m:

 

[Brutus1964]

Slotty

Hopefully this will answer your questions on missionary work.

Also jenyar. It is usually called "Fellowshipping" but the term "freindshipping" is also used. I think my response below should answer both your questions.

The Church's mission is:

1) Missionary work (Teaching non-members about the gospel)

2) Perfecting the Saints (Assisting members with their spiritual and temporal needs)

3) Redeeming the dead. (Temple Work)

Mark 16:15 KJV “Go ye into all the world and preach my gospel to every creature"

Before Christ ascended into heaven he admonished his apostles to go preach the gospel to every creature. When you gain truth you are required to spread it. We cannot just save ourselves we are also required to try and save our brothers and sisters and build the Kingdom of Christ upon the Earth. We do this with missionary work. Our particular method is not to send out learned scholarly men to preach the gospel but to send out young men and women. This not only brings in new converts but it also strengthens the youth of the church and prepares them for the rest of their life. The Church is very careful about obeying the laws of any nation we are allowed in so we always treat local people with respect and refrain from aggressive or offensive tactics. If an individual missionary has seen fit to go overboard it is he who is breaking the rules. Missionaries are trained extensively to be sensitive of the people and areas they are serving.

 

[duendy]

questions....you efute the accusation that Mormonism is a form of slavery to some deity. so i ask you to define what you mean by 'must'--as n when you claim that despite everything, in the end we 'MUST accept your God's plan

2nd..how do mormons feel about Nature in its natrual state? are you with me? for example christians for the pre-mormon congragations believe Nature as needing purificatio

So do you see our world as inferior? you said above that even the 'outer kingdoms' or summat like that is better than life here