Current mood:
accomplishedCategory: Religion and Philosophy
Recently I was asked by a myspace friend to take another test (20 questions) at a site to see what Faith I have the most common beliefs with.
It said Church Of The Latter Day Saints (mormons) was my number 1 match.
Coincidentally, about a week later, 2 LDS (Latter Day Saint) Missionaries showed up while I was working on my truck.
We started talking and everything I had to offer, they agreed with. I really thought we had a connection going there.
They offered me a "The Book Of Mormon" bible, which I had absolutely NO idea who the author was, and invited me to their Church, their own phone numbers to their houses and said they would even visit me at my home if I had any questions or needs.
I was like "dang!! these people are NICE, maybe this is what I truly belong to".
2 days ago, 2 of the other members of that same Church came to my door as a followup visit and I told them I had to research before I made any commitments to anything and that I would contact them when I needed to go any steps further.
They gracefully accepted my stance and left.
Today I start reading about LDS and its doctrines and history (using Wikipedia as a source, and I trust Wikipedia for subjects such as this).
I could not BELIEVE how many differences there were between their beliefs and mine.
I'm done!! I give up!!
I will just be me, accept theres a creator and just go on doing what I have been doing.
Heres a paste of the stuff I dont like about LDS:
1.Jesus Christ is viewed as the head of the church, leading it today through revelations given to a hierarchy of priesthood leaders to whom the authority has been restored. The highest-ranking leader is the President of the Church, who is considered to be a prophet and an apostle2.but that the Father and the Son are distinct glorified beings of flesh and bone, rather than solely spirit
3.The church distinguishes itself from other Christian denominations by its practice of temple ordinances, eternal marriage, and teaching that Jesus visited and preached in the Americas after his resurrection
4.Joseph Smith organized the church soon after publishing the Book of Mormon, one of the faith's scriptures, which Joseph Smith said he translated from plates of gold that were buried near his home in a place shown to him by the angel Moroni
5.The church rapidly gained a following, who viewed Joseph Smith as their prophet
6.During the twentieth century, the church grew substantially. In the year 2000, the church reported 60,784 missionaries
7.The church has played, at times, a prominent role in political matters, including opposition to MX Peacekeeper missile bases in Utah and Nevada,[30] opposing the Equal Rights Amendment,[31] opposing legalized gambling,[32] support of bans on same-sex marriage
8.Perhaps the most distinct difference between the LDS church and other faiths is the belief that its founder Joseph Smith was a prophet who received a visitation from God (known as the First Vision), and was directed to translate the Book of Mormon, an additional volume of scripture to complement the Bible
9.Latter-day Saint sacraments are called ordinances, of which there are two types: saving ordinances and non-saving ordinances. All ordinances, whether saving or non-saving, must be performed by a man ordained to the appropriate priesthood office, with the exception of certain parts of the Endowment and the initiatory or washings and anointings, in which women can perform the ordinance without being ordained to an office.
10.According to teachings in the Book of Mormon, the Americas are a special location reserved by God for those who love freedom and freedom of religion. According to Joseph Smith, what is now Jackson County, Missouri was the location of the Garden of Eden and will be the location of the future New Jerusalem, and God has led numerous groups to the western hemisphere in search of freedom,[90] including several groups of ancestors to the Native Americans whose stories are told in the Book of Mormon.
11. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners."[97] Some have characterized this view of the man-woman relationship as "equal but different".[98] Nevertheless, LDS women in the United States work outside the home in about the same percentage as other American women.[99]
12.The church teaches what it calls the law of chastity, a moral code that its members must follow to be in good standing with the church. At its core, the law of chastity prohibits pre-marital sex and adultery,[102] which includes gay and lesbian sex. The law also prohibits other sexual behavior, such as bestiality and masturbation, as well as mental behavior such as lust, sexual fantasy, and viewing of pornography
13.LGBT members of the church are expected to keep the law of chastity. [111][112] If they do, they can "go forward as do all other members of the church."[111] If they desire to enter into a heterosexual marriage, they should first learn to deal with their homosexual feelings; otherwise, they must remain celibate.[113] Gay or lesbian sex, in any form, whether the participants are married or not, may be grounds for excommunication.
14. The church has supported a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and polygamous marriage in the United States and has stated that it "favors measures that define marriage as the union of a man and a woman and that do not confer legal status on any other sexual relationship."[114] The church's position is that government recognition of such rights will "undermine the divinely created institution of the family".[114] [115]
15.For members of the church, the greatest commandment is to love God with all their heart and the second is to love others as they love themselves
16.Good standing in the church requires that members follow the "Word of Wisdom"[121] (a health code given by Joseph Smith which the church interprets as requiring abstinence from alcoholic beverages, tobacco, coffee, black tea, and recreational drugs).
17.The church accepts the Holy Bible as the word of God as far as it is translated correctly.[127] Joseph Smith wrote, "I believe the Bible as it read when it came from the pen of the original writers"[128] The LDS church uses the King James Version (KJV) or translation for its English speaking members and other translations to accommodate alternative languages. Joseph Smith did work on his own translation, but it is only used in conjunction with the KJV.
Rather than going into a point by point reason why I disagree with each of these points, just know that I am for equal rights of ALL people, whether it be women, gays, people of color, whatever.
Notice that number 15 goes against its own doctrine of going against gays.
The gays get excommunicated if they have sex with their own sex so is that treating as they themselves like to be treated?
My biggest gripe is that this Joseph Smith character claims himself a prophet and wrote yet MORE to the scriptures? Give me a break!!
Then he has the audacity to say he believes in the King James as it was written by its own writers (as per his OWN translation or interpretation), yet he uses this alongside his OWN scripture to further base his own teachings?
Seems to me that if he had TRULY talked to Jesus, (in the flesh) cough cough, hardy har har!!. Then Jesus would have TOLD him the discrepancies in the King James version rather than having him write a whole new testament.
I see no difference between this Joseph Smith and David Koresh or Jim Jones.
No more searching for me.
My God is whoever invented Eurodance Music and I think Peter Luts is the appointed prophet!! :o)
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