I am Mormon. Mormon I am. I love being Mormon.
My friend is nondenominational Christian. She loves it. We both love our own religions.
We’ve been friends for almost five years. We both respect each other’s religious views, and have even visited each other’s church meetings. We frequently have discussions on our beliefs, in which neither of us preach. We simply like to talk about it, and see where our beliefs might overlap and see some differences, etc.
One day a few years back, I called myself a Christian.
“You’re not a Christian. You’re Mormon.” she said.
“Yes, I’m Mormon, but I am also a Christian. I believe in Jesus Christ. Doesn’t that make me a Christian?” I replied.
We had a discussion, where, at the end, she still claimed that I was not a Christian. This made me think: What really is a Christian, and who gets to call themselves one?
According to the wonderful dictionary.com, a Christian is (in the noun form):
One who professes belief in Jesus as Christ or follows the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus. One who lives according to the teachings of Jesus.
I think that pretty much covers it. Mormon, in actuality, is a nickname for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We believe that Jesus is the Christ. We read and follow the Bible (in addition to other scriptures) and believe in following the principles set forth by Jesus Christ in the New Testament. We all strive to live like Jesus, although no one is perfect. We even have a cute little song called “I’m Trying to be Like Jesus”. In all actuality, Mormons are Christians.
Then, a few weeks ago, we were talking about the same subject. She has just recently married a Jehovah’s Witness turned nondenominational Christian. She was talking about how mainstream Christians don’t believe that Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are Christians. So, she decided to do her research, and she now believes that both religions are Christian in her mind. She says that she now disagrees with the mainstream view on who gets the name of Christian.
We both now agree that the title of Christian should be handed out to people who, according to dictionary.com’s definition, are Christian.
Any thoughts?
I belive that anyone with a belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ, no matter what religion, are Christians. The Jehovahs Witnesses, and Mormons are just as Christian as Whites, Blacks, and hispanics are human beings.
The author of the article seems to forget that there are cults out there that literally commit murder.
Because the Watchtower cult is obsessed with death and destruction long term exposure can lead to murder. One possible psychological explanation for this is the physiological murder model. Members of this cult commit both murder and suicide at a rate far exceeding the general population. This is due to the cult's focus on death in its publications.
By Christian Peper, Counter-cult educator.
If a cult (or any religion) practices murder, than they are not following the sermons of Jesus christ, which according to dictionary.com, does not make them Christain.
Yes, but the teachings also include no lying, stealing, or cheating. Does this make anyone that does these things unchristian as well?
Find out everything you need to know about poop here:
http://progressiveu.org/000701-everything-you-need-know-about-poop
That depends if they think what they did was wrong. Cults may cheat, steal, or murder and then claim that it is justified and that Jesus is behind them. As the author points out, everyone makes mistakes, the important thing is if they recognize the mistake and as for forgiveness.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/tricia0711
Jehovah's Witnesses are wolves in sheep's clothing counterfeit Christians.Every Jehovah's Witness member will grow old and die just like everyone else.What's scary is they are hedging all their hopes on an imminent Watchtower Armageddon to deliver them.
There is no Armageddon that will annihilate 6.5 billion people,and install Watchtower leaders as world rulers.
The core dogma of the Watchtower organization is that Jesus had his second coming 'invisibly' in the year 1914.Their entire doctrinal superstructure is built on this falsehood.
Jehovah's Witnesses door to door recruitment is by their own admission an ineffective tactic. They have lost membership in all countries with major Internet access because their false doctrines and harmful practices are exposed on the modern information superhighway.
There is good and valid reasons why there is such an outrage against the Watchtower for misleading millions of followers.Many have invested everything in the 'imminent' apocalyptic promises of the Jehovah's Witnesses and have died broken and beaten.
“If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord (Jehovah) does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet (Watchtower leaders) has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him” (Deut. 18:22)
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Respectfully,Danny Haszard www.freeminds.org (consumer report on the Watchtower organization)
-tell the truth don't be afraid-
Being Mormon you hear people call you a cult all the time, and you hear people talk about how you're weird, and how you're wrong, etc. I've heard it a lot, and I've never heard anything bad about Jehovah's Witnesses! It's a big surprise that so far, 2 people have commented on how they're not Christian, and how they're bad people, and no one has said anything on how Mormons are. Quite interesting indeed...
Mainstream Mormons are 'normal' you have charities,schools,do holidays,fight for your country.
LDS has got a bad rap because of the fundy polygamy cults that spun off.
JW's cause more distress & family breakups than mainstream LDS does.
BTW-If JW's say that they are spoken of badly because of 'persecution' well consider this,it doesn't make them the 'true' religion.It just goes to show that they have alienated lots of members because of abuse.
There are a lot more anti-scientology websites than anti WTBS,it doesn't make scientology the 'truth'.
John 3:16 though we take that verse forgranted sometimes. We cannot be the judge of what a Christian is. If you believe in JC that's all and that he died for our sins so that we may have eternal life. That's all that matters.
I also believe that as long as you live to be the best person you are that that's all that matters. Some people don't have the opportunity to hear about Jesus, but as long as they're the best person they can be, in the long run they'll be okay.
Christians are supposed to (quote) go into all the world and preach the gospel (unquote) so that everyone can have eternal life. It is our duty, as christians, to go and bring people to Christ. So someone who is ignorant of Christianity...I dont know what really happens to them. But someone who has heard, but not followed, the word of God is...well...condemned to hell for all eternity. That is, until judgement day when they are raised and then sent back.
Ever heard of the Great Flood? When God was going to wipe out all humans from existence on Earth? God only let one family live--Noah and his family, because they loved Him and obeyed Him. Everyone else, nice or not nice died.
Although God wants us to love our neighbors--be good people, he wants us to love Him first. The way we show this is by obeying him-- accepting his authority. He stated in John 3:16 whoever believes God's only begotten son died for our sins will be saved.
hmmm,
I know several people who feel all of christianity is a cult who destroys people and nations and families, and often covers up the evil stuff using chrisitanity as a facade.
So its interesting to watch christians call christians evil, especially with the dominionists that exist in several sects of christianity.
I call someone who:
-believes in christ as the son of the monothestic abrahamic god a religious christian,
-is descended from and raised in a cultural existence that has been derived by a culture influenced by christian teaching history and beliefs (whether they are religiously related or not) an ethnic christian
and
-hides their flaws from the world or themselves under the social umbrella and pretenses of the social network and lip service behavior for the sake of pretenses or social conformity social christians.
www.worldcantwait.com
Although we complain about so many hipocracies to the Christian society we are no better. No one is perfect, and God helps those who seek wisdom. The only way to find truth is to seek it with a humble heart.
JESSAMINE Q.
Christ said that faith without works is pointless. So you may have the faith in Christ but if you are not doing all that he and His Father want then you are not really serving him. Therefore you are not Christian in his eyes, which what he thinks is all that matters. That means not getting involved in anything that contradicts His name such as pagan holidays, pagan beliefs. Follow his commandments. Preaching being one of them, not just for 2 years but for as long as you can and not for money. Also being no part of the world. Jesus said do not go boasting about in the world about your accomplishments in your spirituality and do not participate in war or become a king or queen.
It is sad to see how some on this post can be so mean to certain groups of people. I see this as a sincere prejudice and wonder why they are allowed to continue to post when in direct conflict with the rules and regulations of this site. It seems as if these prejudiced people have one agenda and that is to talk falsely and badly about certain groups. It immature, prejudiced and down-right unacceptable. If you have concerns about something, you shouldn't go about it in the way some of these posters have, in a disrespectful and conniving way. There are ways of posting your concerns without getting nasty.
And just as a final thought, Jehovah's Witnesses have helped in all major disasters around the world, going out and building homes and providing spiritual encouragement. And unlike most major religions they have refrained from getting publicity on these deeds because of their nonboastful spirit as a Christian religion.
"So you may have the faith in Christ but if you are not doing all that he and His Father want then you are not really serving him. Therefore you are not Christian in his eyes"
By that definition NO ONE AT ALL is a Christian. NO ONE does EVERYTHING that "good Christians" are supposed to.
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"So stuff that in your pipe and smoke it!"
This is a great question. I don't really care to know the answer. These days everyone calls themselves a Christian. What do I care who calls themselves what. What you need to be asking is am I going to heaven when I die? If you accepted Jesus Christ as God's only begotten son who died a cruel death he didn't deserve to pay for your sins then congratulations! You have accepted God's free gift and are going to heaven. But remember-- you have to believe Jesus was God's begotten son--conceived by the Holy Spirit.
"If you accepted Jesus Christ as God's only begotten son who died a cruel death he didn't deserve to pay for your sins then congratulations!"
I fail to see how it's my fault that God created a world where he would need to kill his own son.
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"So stuff that in your pipe and smoke it!"
Humans are sinners. That's just a simple fact. You should be happy that God sent his only begotten son to be the ultimate sacifice and cleanse you of your sins. It was done out of love.
Religion is something personal. Some people incorperate Pagan traditions into their Christian lives (Christian Wicca -- that type of thing. Not talking about "oh I meditate and I'm Christian" type of incorperation), and still call themselves Christian. It's fully their right to do so. What's right for (or to) one person, may not appear the same way to someone else, but that's the beauty of being allowed to believe whatever you darned well please.
It's comepletly impossible to prove any religion beyond all doubt. That's why there are so many different religions, and even within each religion there are different ways that it's followers interperet it. If you want to consider yourself Christian, by all means, go right ahead. If that's what you are in your own mind, and it's justifiable to yourself that's all that matters. To proverbial hell with the people who try to tell YOU what YOU are.
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"So stuff that in your pipe and smoke it!"
Christian - Christ like. dont claim to be a christian if you are not like Christ. and dont say you are one jus to fit in when u feel like it.
reply to the last post... ITS true that religion hasnt been proved... "religion is crap" i hate the word all in it self. it should like.. a curse word.
IF YOU HAVE SO MUCH DOUBT ABOUT ANY RELIGION THEN YOU CANT SAY THERES NO PROOF. DOUBTING IS BEING UNSURE. IF YOU'RE SURE, absolutely positive that THEN YOU WOULDNT BE DOUBTING ANYYYYTHING
. everyone needs to stop being so religious.
. i think it is very sad that there has to be so many religions when there is only one true god to worship.. there shouldnt be any religion at all.ok so u claim a religion big whoop! all your doing is following a tradition that u felt the most comfortable with.
.Religion is killing the church... a (the)church is just a temple, a body a group of people with a common interest. ok so u claim a religion big whoop! all your doing is following a tradition that u felt the most comfortable with.
God doesnt need a temple anyways. so why build churches. you may not realize it but where there is a lack of a church building in say Africa, they dont care. thell have "church" under a tree, or out in the dessert.. with no chairs! oh boy.
u kno what i dont even want to call it church any more. like whats the point. i jus go to a place to get closer to God... and dont even get me started on goin on a certain day , oh say maybe a sunday. i mean sure God said make the sabbath holy.. but everyday should be holy not just sunday and then maybe a wednesday nite service for a "refill"...
. heres the written promis: ask Christ's forgiveness for your sins, believe in Him wich means you gotta have this thing called FAITH.. ((yah that thing where you have to believe in somthing you cant see.. i kno its hard to do but im positive about this ^-^ ))and allow Him to dwell in your heart , and you will be set free
... not to mention gain a best friend FOR *LIFE* that will never backstab nor forsake you (leave you)
any more questions? i think ive covered jus bout everything :-)
Mizz B
What the HECK does this mean?
"IF YOU HAVE SO MUCH DOUBT ABOUT ANY RELIGION THEN YOU CANT SAY THERES NO PROOF. DOUBTING IS BEING UNSURE. IF YOU'RE SURE, absolutely positive that THEN YOU WOULDNT BE DOUBTING ANYYYYTHING"
I don't have the slightest idea what you're saying here, so I'm uncertain how to respond.
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"So stuff that in your pipe and smoke it!"
The first person who can provide some objective proof that their religion is the right one, and that everyone else's is not can call themselves whatever they wish. Until then, everyone can call themselves whatever they wish, and the rest will just have to get over it.
percivale
I'm one of the few who actually believe that if you follow Jesus Christ's teachings, then you are a subsect of Christianity. Christianity has the world CHRIST in it. Therefore, defines it.
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"Dancers are instruments, like a piano the choreographer plays." ~George Balanchine
*Tatiana Romanov
It is distresssing to see so much animosity between people dicussing our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. I am a devoted, born again ,spirit filled christian. I think what you are really debating is who gets to go to heaven and who doesn't. I think that is a decision only God get to make. His word is his word. and it will prove true or false in the end of time. As christians we are to be a living example to those around us so that they will be drawn to what we have. Here is my bid. The Lord Jesus Christ has restored my marriage, healed my daughter of cancer-miraculously- cured my husbands panic attacks,gotten us a business started, provided financially for us, taken my children out of sin, delivered my husband from alcoholism, smoking, and drugs,taken the anger out of my husband and made him a kind person, healed numerous illnesses in our family, and countless other blessings, So many to list them all here. I wouldn't lie to you. My life wasn't worth living before I met Christ and now I can't imagine my life without him. I wish everyone the same joy I have found, but each of you has to make your own decision how you want to live your life. God calls that free will. So allthough every part of me wants every one of you to have what I have, it is not up to me to dictate it to you.
This is really cool, because you can believe in God and Jesus, but to actually be a true christian you have to follow the teachings of Jesus.
the book, the Irresistable Revolution talks about the identity of christians. You have to live out the teachings of Jesus.
I believe in Jesus and I believe that He is the way to heaven. He died for our sins, and through him we can have eternal life. We can be saved and we can spread hope and love to the rest of the world. Religion, that is, the strict ritual and traditions of certain denominations are killing some churches. Tradition gets in the way of serving God.
My main problem with mormonism is this
Revelations 22:18-19 says, "18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book."
The Book of Mormon is an addition to the bible. Adding to the bible is obviously wrong.
Deuteronomy 4:2 "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it."
That was Moses speaking. If the Israelites had taken that literally, as you are trying to do with Revelations, there would be no Joshua, Judges, Ruth....
That scripture from Revelations was talking about the actual book fo Revelations, not, as popular belief has it, the entire Bible. First of all, according to Christian history, the entire Bible as we have it did not exist when John wrote Revelations. The books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, Revelations, etc. existed separately (ie the Dead Sea Scrolls -- they did not compile these scripts until much later). There was no way John could have been referring to the entire Bible because the Bible as we know it DID NOT EXIST. He was referring to Revelations, and since the Book of Mormon is not an addition to Revelations, it violates no principles. Besides, it's not really an addition to the Bible in the first place. It's "Another Testament of Jesus Christ". Do you think the early Christians did not rejoice when they received the more detailed account of matthew when before they had only Mark? It was not taking away from or changing the doctrines taught, but simply adding to the power of that testimony. So why should we not rejoice when we see today another testament of Christ that in no way diminishes or denies anything Christ said in the New Testament, but merely adds another voice of testimony that strengthens the spirit of the message?
The thing is, "Christian" was a term made up much later after Jesus died. The term isn't what's relevant. What matters is what you believe and only you and God can tell for sure if what you believe is the "right" belief.
I agree with the person who referenced John 3:16 up there, personally though, and said that nobody can judge you as Christian or not.
The answer to everyones question, Mormons, JWs, or anyone else christian is in a single question. WHO IS JESUS?
"It's Better To Burn Out Than To Fade Away" -Neil Young
I think that anybody that tries to live life in a "Christ-like" way (which is what i've been brought up to believe being a Christian is all about) than they're a Christian.
~ I trust my soul, my only goal is just to be! ~
RENT
If you guys are Christians then I'm out.
And Jesus was not a Christian, he was a Jew.
Of course He was a Jew.
Christian is a term applied to those who follow Christ.
Well, this debate has been rehashed almost over every thread. But I am a God fearing man, I believe Jesus Christ is my lord and savior, died on the cross for my sins, so soul my could be reborn. Do I consider myself Christian? A lot of times, I don't like to consider myself Christian, because it labels me as religious. And religious I am not. I don't even go to church on Sundays, I don't pray before I eat many times, and I am by far a saint. Because I am reborned, since then, I do a lot of good things. Not of fear or to "earn" my way into heaven, but becaue my faith, brings forth good works automatically. Something changed on the inside of me when my soul became baptized. I also have never been water baptized, but my soul has once I accepted Jesus Christ.
But lets just take the term Christian. Those that are Christians believe many things that contradict the beliefs of Mormons. The main one, well....the big one is that...
CHRISTIANS are God fearing
MORMONS are God aspiring
Even though people of your faith will use the word Jesus Christ many times, to be quite honest, you truly don't have the personal relationship with Jesus Christ many Christian's have. And your definition of Jesus Christ is much different. Such as the theory that Jesus was the brother of Satan, and set for this plan of salvation for man to become a God like him.
Salvation also means something different to both religions. Salvations means to Christians that they are saved, and will live in Heaven forever because Jesus was the lamb of God, shed the last blood for sin. If he didn't, then we'd all be literally sacficiing chickens and cows everytime we sin.
Salvation to Mormons means the law of eternal progression, where a spirit child must attain a body, sin (tested), be baptized by emmersion, obtain a temple recommend, TITHE, and get married in a temple, to eventualy become a God of his own universe.
I would say ALL CHRISTIANS believe alike, the same Jesus, the theory that I believe in.
Mormons on the other hands, don't believe in this at all. As you can see, both versions are very very different. Very very different. Now this doesn't make Mormons crazy, or evil, or anything like that. It just means that you are Mormon, not Christian.
But you should take notice, that your faith does very perculiar things, when it comes to subtext. For example, Mormons will call themselves Chrisitans, when in reality, they believe something very different than Christians. Mormons will consider secret rituals sacred not secret, when they are actually secret. Missionaires will not tell their "investigators" all what they believe, but Chrisitans will. The LDS chuch does a pretty well job at utilizing what we screenwriters called subtext. Say one thing, but it actually means another.
What the LDS Church has done is taken a term coined by Christians, and they are distorting it. It's equivalent to the homosexual community has done to the word gay. Gay means happy, but now it means homosexual.
If you truly believe that all Mormons are Christians, then all Christians are Mormons. That's not the truth. Christians are not Mormons, therefore Mormons are not Christians.
A simple logical arguement would state. All Christians believe Jesus Christ are God fearing and not God aspiring. Mormons are God fearing AND God aspiring, therefore Mormons are not Chrisitans.
So your friend was right. You are not Chrisitan, but you are a Mormon. But there's nothing wrong with that.
My dad is hard working, honest, blue-collar guy. The world hasn't always been to kind to him. He found himself out of a job many times as I was a child. You could say we grew up poor. We qualified for welfare and free school lunch, but my dad had too much dignity and pride to accept the freebies. He busted his ass and made every penny count.
By the time I was in high school things were working out for my dad and he had stable work with benefits. Our lives improved, but it wasn't like we were rolling in cash. We had moved out of poverty status into the lower middle class status. Money was still tight.
I was never one of those kids who saved for a mission because honestly I never considered it until I was a SR in HS. My dad was proud when I decided to serve; I was the first in my family to serve a mission. The mission would cost $365 a month. My Dad's monthly tithing was about $365 a month. If he paid for both it would be over $700 a month and he just couldn't afford to do that.
My dad decided to skip out on tithing and fund my mish. The Bishop chastised him for this and told him tithing always came first. He should pay his tithing no matter what, and the ward would pay for my mission. My Dad had too much dignity to do that. Also, my Dad reasoned that it was sixes. He tithes $365, and the church turned around and gave him $365 back to pay for my mission. How is that any different than skipping tithing and just paying for my mission?
2 years later I arrived home, and a month after I got home, my brother left on his mission. So basically, my dad did not pay tithing for 4 yrs because he was funding missions.
About a year into my brother's mission I got engaged. I was going to be sealed in the temple. My dad's TR had lapsed, so he went to get it renewed a couple of days before the wedding. Of course, he hadn't been paying tithing for 3 years because he was funding missions. The Bishop knew this and told him he had to at least pay a years worth of back tithing before he would renew the recommend. This came to roughly $4000. My dad went out and got a loan and paid the money. I was pissed at the whole situation. My dad just said: "It was worth it to be able to attend my son's wedding." The sad thing is; in any other situation, no one would have to pay 4 g's to be able to attend their kid's wedding.
I want everyone who is teeter-tottering on whether the LDS church is for them or not to understand this story.
Forget JS marrying a bunch of teens, forget about the uneasy history of Mormonism, forget about DNA and the BOM, and the contradicting doctrines. All churches have these things in common to some degree.
The most f*cked up thing about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the way it treats it's own members and families. It claims to be pro family, but it splits up families and screws with people's lives. It makes them pay large sums of money in order to see a loved one's wedding. It takes, and takes, and takes. Whether it is your time, money, or sanity. It sucks you dry and does not give back anything of value except some pipe dream of a perfect afterlife. An afterlife which the church makes you feel is impossible to obtain, and uses this to heap unnecessary guilt upon it's members.
It's not the doctrine that makes the church a damaging cult. It's the way they screw their members over. Such as not letting a father attend his child's wedding unless he pays $4000.
In response to the Revelations comment, I'm not so sure I believe that book. I believe that the Bible contains the word of God, but it was written by man and therefore can contain error. Especially when you consider that even what should be in the Bible is up for debate. I think Catholics have four more books in their Bible than Protestants, but nobody but than the IRA and hardcore evangelicals thinks that the other one is going to Hell for having the wrong Bible. Also, remember that when Jesus was alive, there was no concept of there being a authoritative list of books for the Christian Bible, and he never said anything about it. Also remember that nobody's beliefs are without some sort of interpretations. Despite the fact that evangelicals say that nothing outside the Bible is true, they still make their own interpretations on how it should be applied and what certain things mean. And sorry to pick on evangelicals. I don't think that they are all a bunch of intolerant evil hypocrites that some liberals paint them as, but I find that many of them are very arrogant in their absolute conviction that they are the only ones with the any form of truth.
Actually, the reason a lot of people dont consider Mormonism a sect of Christianity is because the book of mormon actually contradicts the Bible in many ways. I know you claim to follow both, but there's countless contradictions between them. One of the ones I've been most informed about is earning your way to heaven. If I'm not mistaken, Mormons believe they earn their way to heaven through good acts. The Book of Galatians in the Bible is written specifically to say that you can't do that! There's also many verses scattered throughout the Bible, especially in the New Testement letters, saying the same thing. Good deeds are referred to as dirty rags, and ephesians says salvation is ONLY grace, not grace plus works. There's so many more verses scattered throughout the Bible that disprove good works earning your way to heaven.
Also, there's countless more contradictions. I just found a brief site that hits a couple of them briefly: http://www.bible.ca/mor-contradictions.htm
But, I suggest if you really want to realize the differences you should google it. There's so so many more than what this one presents, ones that carry much more weight, and will convince you one can't follow both Books.
Just to get things straight, I'm not saying the Mormon religion is wrong. I'm just saying someone can't follow the Bible and the Book of Mormon at the same time. The books are constantly butting heads. If you want to talk to me more, please email me! zeffiex69@yahoo.com
the book of mormon actually contradicts the Bible in many ways.
Heck...the bible contradicts ITSELF in more places than can easily be counted, so I don't see how that's a big deal. Besides, the whole mess is just a made up bunch of crap, anyway, and NONE of it has any actual, objective evidence that would allow a rational person to determine which of the thousands of contradictory interpretations (if ANY) is actually correct. It hardly seems worth arguing over. Just go play with your imaginary friend, and leave everyone else alone to play with their's. And who knows...maybe one day you guys will grow up enough to get some REAL friends to play with.
TTFN,
Blackout
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Yes, I've changed my username from "percivale" to "Blackout." Go here if you want to know why.
To staybeautiful13: I defy you to show my a direct quotation, direct proof that the Book of Mormon contradicts the Bible. I defy you! And not by googling it either. No, I defy you to read the actual Book of Mormon, and not an internet version but the actual Book that is published by the church itself. I defy you to show me a verse, exactly worded, page numbers and all, that does not bear testimony of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I also defy you to read the Book of Mormon not to look for mistakes but to see how you feel when you read it. I defy you to read it with an open mind and an open heart and tell me what you feel. Until you read the actual book and back up your argument with concrete evidence, you have no argument.
I'm still reeling. There are so many distorted truths in that post I don't know where to start. The only thing I can do is bear my testimony, because I do not want to start a fight over Christianity because this is a peaceful religion and we shouldn't fight with each other.
I don't know what you mean by not having a personal relationship with Christ. I pray to God just like any other Christian and I can tell you that I love Jesus and I have felt His love in my life. Not a personal relationship? He is part of all of my actions. I counsel with Him in all my doings, and I pray to Him every night. I have felt the Spirit work within my heart, and I read the New Testament every morning to learn more about HIs life. I do not simply say His name, but I feel His love. He is my Savior, my Redeemer, my only way to everlasting life and salvation. He is my Lord, my Master, and my friend. I am not simply saying this, I believe it with all my heart and I defy somebody to tell me I don't believe this. You cannot tell me what I do and don't believe. All I know is that I love Jesus and He knows it . Only He knows my heart, no one else. So don't tell me I don't have a relationship with Him. I defy you to prove that.
As for the sacred, "secret" ordinances, let's get our facts straight. Remember how Jesus spoke in parables? Remember how some things were too sacred for him to speak plainly about? Remember the "do not cast your pearls before swine"? I would not post anything sacred online or write about spiritual things unless the someone I told them to wanted to listen not to prove me wrong but to understand me. Sacred things are sacred and not to be taken lightly, so they are not often talked about. Would you post your innermost feelings online for everyone to see? No, because you value them and they are sacred to you. So we do not talk openly about our sacred ordinances (note that I said ordinances and not rituals) because they are sacred to us and we show respect by not "casting our pearls before swine".
As for the paying 4000 to attend a wedding, would you rather an unworthy man enter God's House? Tithing is a commandment, not a suggestion, and if you believed that, you would follow it. I'm sorry it was expensive, and I'm sorry it came to that. But you're supposed to follow the bishop's directions, and if your pride gets in the way, I'm sorry. But he did warn you. I'm sorry you're bitter. But that's no reason to print lies about my church.