The Mormon version of Christianity

I do not know much About the Mormon version of Christianity, is this video about right?

[video=youtube;JVao_t31gL0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVao_t31gL0[/video]

 

another link

"What Mormons Believe:"

http://whatmormonsbelieve.org/

 

I just recently talked to a co-worker who was raised Mormon. I'm impressed with how organized this religion is. It's very structured. I'm gonna list these things off not to be judged, but just for something to think about:

Here's what he said:

*They keep a database of all the people in the faith. I assume this is done by who attends service.

*The 'Missions' they go on are not free. If a youth wants to go to a 'premium' location, like France, They pony up $10,000 to the church to pay for expenses. Less fortunate individuals pay $2,000 and go to places like Guam. Going on a mission is pretty much mandatory when a youth turns 19. (explains how they have the money to fight stuff like Prop 8 )

*They will send a mentor to a youth to talk about faith stuff. It's an automatic process since they have everyone in a database. A person basically picks someone out of the database that hasn't been to church in awhile and they come to your home to talk with you.

*It's all about marriage and children. An hour of the 3 hour service is devoted to women and men only. They are separated and have a service pertaining specifically to their role in the community. They also have a singles service during the week. Where 18-29 year old's go to a service where they can mingle and meet other available adults. Of course, they don't teach anyone how to actually fukc. =P

*Insight magazine is the resource all the churches use to stay up to date. It's a resource the clergy uses for sermons and stuff.

*There are 4 BYU branches. Apparently, the one in Idaho is for unmarried single women. He said basically that the unmarried women from the main University drop out and go to Idaho. I used my filthy imagination to fill in the rest...=P

I learned some interesting stuff, I'm really impressed with how well run the church is. I have another friend who is Mormon and attends a different church but I've never really talked to her about her faith.

 

Hm, darn near full-service! That's the problem with not being religious - you miss out on all the fringe benefits of church.

 

LMAO. That's what I was thinking.

He told me that he didn't really want to go to it. And I said, "Why, is there just a bunch of fat chicks there?". He laughed and said not all of them. lol

But it's entirely based around the churches teachings and philosophies. I don't know about you, but the last thing I want to talk to my naked girlfriend (oops, wife) about is Joseph Smith.

 

Thanks guys for the laughs. Especially liked Beast Modes, "filthy imagination" and "(oops, wife)" bits.

The video is kinda fun too "with one of His goddess wives", "lives with his many goddess wives", "endless celestial sex".
How could anyone reject that kind of stuff?

 

I just remembered something else: He said that the children have to get baptized at age 8 and start bible study.

It came up because I asked him about how if all men are born into sin and unworthy, but yet if a child dies they automatically go to heaven (so much for sinners not getting into heaven =P ) then at what age are people responsible for their actions?

 

interesting, I have never read the Mormon bible, so this is all very new to me

 

I tried out the Mormon Church for a year, and never once did anyone ever teach me what is in the video you posted. Lots of hatred for the Mormons out there, so be skeptical of all the controversy. It is easy to find out what the Mormons believe. Find a Mormon book store or get a copy of the Book of Mormon any way you can and find out for yourself.

 

When I was in the Mormon Church I saw the same. I got to say, when it comes to a devotion to Christ, they win hands down. But they are a very introverted Church when compared to say The Salvation Army which is the most altruistic Church IMO.

 

It's a good thing he's not a Muslim or libs would be after you accusing you of being a "racist" or a "bigot".

 

What most mormons won't tell you is that a woman in the mormon church is property, according to the book of mormon and belongs to her husband. A woman who remains unmarried can never go to heaven, only men can freely enter heaven and they choose whether or not their wives are allowed in, and woman do not get their own mansions in heaven. They live with their husband to serve him for all eternity.

 

I don't react the same way to this. My immediate response is this is a hyper controlling faith that is serving itself and creating a mysoginist culture for the purpose of enrichment of the male faithful. The indoctrination part is very smart for the organization, and doesn't leave any hope for the independent thinking of the children. The faith is pounded into them from a young age. The magazine ensures that everyone stays on point and doesn't stray into dangerous unique insights.
I really am not a fan of this iteration of man's attempt to understand the supernatural, as I don't think that was ever its goal. Smith created a vehicle to launch him to money and power. The leadership now wants to keep it.
It's all pretty tawdry to me.

 

Maybe, if they went back to having multiple wives, they would forget about having Armageddon.

 

Maybe if they did marriages like they do in Swaziland, they'd have a lot more members:

 

Nope the Mormons are not Christian whatever there pretenses. The Movie is fairly accurate as far as it goes. There also appears to be some connections between the Mormons and Free masons and like the Free masons the Mormon church is extremely hierachical. How much you know is largely a function of how far up the chain of command you have progressed.

There is however one difference between the Bible and the Book of Mormon. virtually every city mentioned in the Bible has been found. Archeological support for the Book Of Mormons beliefs simply does not exist.

 

Oh boy, I don't get on for a few days and this happens. Again.

Whatever nonbelievers in the LDS religion may say, this movie is completely FALSE. It's utterly ridiculous in fact, to the point where I find it silly how much people still seem to think it's what people can somehow manage to believe.

As to what Beastmode said, it's somewhat true, but taken a little wrong. There is a database that keeps track of all the members of the faith, however it is based on their baptism into the church at age eight. Once there, the church keeps a record of them. It stems from the idea of the 99 and the lost sheep parable. This way we can keep track of who is lost - when they stop coming. We usually have someone from the ward go out to this person, we refer to them as less or non-active, and talk to them about it. If it's a problem that can be fixed then we do all we can to make it better for the person to be able to come back. Sometimes it has to do with what another member has said that this member finds offensive, if so we try to help them settle the difference to help them come back. If it something doctrinal, and they ask to leave the church, then they are allowed, though I'm not sure what happens to the records. Whether we keep them or remove them, I don't know the particulars of that.

In regards to missions, they do still cost quite a lot, but youth do not choose where they go. The leader of the church in charge of missionaries sits with the record and prays about it, then looks through the available missions until God reveals to him the mission that the young man, or sometimes woman, is to go on. They are then sent on that mission. I'm not sure about the price, but it is not to pay the church, but to pay for the missionaries plane ticket and living expenses while there. I'm not sure what money they would need to fight prop eight, as far as I know all they've done is spoken out against it, if I'm wrong, feel free to correct me and I'll see what I can find out.

I'm not entirely sure what process you're talking about with the mentor on faith, but I don't know about anything like that. There are already mentors to the youth, called leaders, who teach every sunday to the Youth. During the three hour block of church, there is first a "Sacrament Meeting" where members partake of the sacrament and are taught all as a group, similar to a sermon of other christian religions, from what I know of them. Then the second hour is called "Sunday School" where the men and women go to a room to learn together, the children go to their own classes separated by age, and the youth do the same. They are taught by a teacher them more specifically to their age. After that, the third hour is when they all separate into larger groups, men, women, youth (also separated by gender), and children and are taught as a group what their specific role in the church is, as was mentioned above later. So there are specific mentors already in place for the youth, called the leaders (either the Young Women Leaders or the Young Men Leaders). It is their job to discover if any youth is becoming inactive, and to go and ask them why. After that, see what I said above.

The singles are usually much more fun oriented than anything else. In places where there are more collections of singles, usually they have entire wards dedicated to singles alone. The idea of singles wards, or branches (both used to refer to a separate church) is to help young people who are looking for a husband or wife find one who is strong in the gospel, seeing as religion tends to be the biggest divider of families. The Church is very, very centered on families.

I'm not sure what Insight Magazine is... I'll have to look into it, but they do use the Ensign to create talks, which is the Church's magazine. Unlike most churches however, there really is no clergy. The is a bishop and his two counselors, and they preside over each Sunday Gathering. The Bishop is not a permanent leader, neither are the counselors who the bishop chooses. Instead, they are men who were regular members of the ward, and they are replaced when God reveals it to be time for another to take the Bishops place, or when God calls one of them to another calling. However, the Bishop doesn't teach in the Sacrament Meeting, or really much at all. He will make remarks to the congregation sometimes, but more often than not he is not speaking. Instead, the Bishop is inspired by God to ask a member of the congregation to speak, usually giving them a talk from the Ensign to speak on, or sometimes telling them to come up with their own topic with God's help. There is only one member of the entire hierarchy of the church that is in that position for life, and that is the Prophet. Usually the twelve apostles under the prophet are for life as well. Everyone else are replaced when God reveals that it is time for the calling to be passed to another.

The Different BYU branches are all pretty much the same really. It's more of an LDS joke that the Idaho one is for single women, just because the original BYU is very strict. Don't look at that for an example of the church though. Personally, I think that the Provo BYU is going a too far with all their rules. It's a bit ridiculous, but it isn't technically owned by the church itself, though I can't say that for sure. Sometimes I'm not too sure that God would agree with their strictness.

There, I think that clears everything up on that.

As for some of the other comments, I can't remember who said what and I need to get some other things done today, so I don't have time to keep going much longer, but women are not property of me. That is the FLDS church, a breakoff that no one who is LDS would agree with whatsoever. I'm fairly certain they don't even follow the Book of Mormon anymore. In the LDS church, women are told that they should help to support the men because they need it. Women are the "backbone" of the church, running it's more important things, like the relief society for those who are in need. When someone in the family dies, or the mother of a family goes into labor and has to go to the hospital, the relief society will bring meals to the families, take care of young children, and help to support the other members of the church. Every woman in the ward is a member of the Relief Society, so every woman is asked to try and help out. There is mo requirement to help, in fact there really is no requirement at all. Everyone is expected to choose what they will and will not do, it is very much about choice. Some say that woman are considered subservant in the church because it asks women not to work for themselves, but to let the man do that, but that is because of the high placement of families. It is believed that the woman should be there to help take care of the children in the home and to keep it a good God-filled place. Still, the church does ask that women get an education and are able to work in case their husband loses his job. It's just asked that they do what they can to be a mother.

In thebrucebeat's comment about Joseph Smith, I ask them to kindly look again at the history of the church, and tell me how Smith got anything out of it that would have kept him "lying" to so many people. The Church in the early days was a very very sad place to be. Why do you think they suddenly took off to the west? Because they were popular and Joseph Smith was getting a lot of money from his "scam"? Sorry, but I don't see a lot of gain, and I can't imagine any criminal would go through so much pain and not give up the scheme. Besides, he was fourteen years old.

In regards to the independence of the people, they are actually encouraged to write much of the talks themselves, about how they feel about it and what they think, experiences they've had, and just keep that as a topic guideline to the topic they should stick to, seeing as most people aren't great speakers and might get distracted. Most still do. As for children, they are taught much as they would be at home if they are young in regards to the religious aspect. When they are older though, they are asked to read the scriptures for themselves and decide if they believe it to be true. If they decide they don't believe it is true, then they can leave, there is no forcing them to stay.

As for Garyd's comment, the LDS people believe we are christians, whether you believe it or not is your choice, but I don't see much real evidence against the church. The hierarchy of the church honestly is mostly for keeping records, not much for knowledge on church doctrine. Usually, however, the people higher are closer to God, and that is why they have a higher authority.

That is a very big difference, you're right on that. But the people in the Book of Mormon were all destroyed, the ones that called certain places by certain names. By the time the pilgrims and the other Europeans came over, the people here had likely long forgotten it. Still, how much do people really know about those that came before the Aztec and the Mayans, or the inca's (I believe that's what they're all called, forgive me if I misspell the names.) There isn't much that we do know, and we believe they came after the nephites and Lamanites, the civilizations in the Book Of Mormon, at least in a way. Actually, it is believed that the Aztecs were the Nephites at the end of the Book of Mormon, and the Lamanites were the Incas. If you look at old American Indian and South American legends, you can see some of what the Book of Mormon talks about, though it has been twisted by the ages and ages of time between.

I think I've covered everything. If you have anymore questions, please post another. I would be glad to do what I can to answer.

 

Smith was 25 when he published his "English translation" of the tablets he discovered as a teen, plenty of time to invent this hilarious fiction of Jesus crossing the Atlantic. He convinced enough people of this fiction to move to Ohio, and he assembled enough capital to start a bank in the middle 30's.

The story gets more interesting, but the edited version above is not going to tell it.

 

Yes, but the "idea" for the religion began when he was fourteen. Imagine a fourteen year old boy getting a bunch of ridicule for telling a trumped up story, to the point that people would shout at him in the streets and throw things at him, or wouldn't hire him because of it, and sticking with the story. Sounds a little strange to me.

 

I love 3:22 when God gives Mary that "Hey there, baby." look!

This makes a LOT more sense than basic Christianity. I think I will become Mormon.

 

Yo, sign me UP! I have always believed that I was God-material. Praise be to Joseph Smith for revealing the pathway for Mankind to achieve His true potential!

 

Interesting thoughts...I've known many Mormons, and currently work closely with many (live in the southwest). Although I could never see myself believing in any organized religion, so much of what has been said about Mormon beliefs are way off the mark. Yes...I agree they have some rather odd belief systems, and their version of history is more or less completely fabricated especially as it relates to Native Americans, however they do seem to include rather than exclude, which exclusion seems to be a hallmark of christianity.

I suppose you could say most Mormons are conservative in nature politically, I've never experienced any of my Mormon friends as what I would consider extremist. Most are quite understanding of the poor, and willing to help, regardless of faith.

I believe polygamy was largely instituted as a means of self-preservation. Mormons were harshly persecuted by Christians, and I'm assuming multiple wives would produce multiple children and followers of the faith. Of course these practices were outlawed over a hundred years ago, and not part of mainstream LDS. Anyway...

 

Me too, and he's the only source for that story. A great self promotion.

 

I have a question...how do you rectify the bizarre revisionist historical data that Lamenites/Nephites came from Israel on a boat, and rectify the idea that people waring with Nephites were cursed by God with dark skin? I may have the tribal terminology wrong (nephites, lamenites etc)

If you look at my post above, you'll see that I have quite a bit of fondness for many of the Mormons Ive met, its just some of these ideas seem clearly unjustifiable and not supported by any archeological evidence.

 

Let's see if I can explain this one. I'm assuming you're referring to the apparent racism of God in the Book of Mormon in darkening the skin of the Lamanites. Actually, if you think about it, the Lamanites turn out to be better people that the Nephites, who stayed white. The intention of God in darkening their skin was not to say a certain race or skin tone was better than another, but to make the Lamanites repulsive to the Nephites. Everyone knows that the Jews had severe racism issues, so to turn the Lamanites darker made it so the Nephites weren't going to mix with the Lamanites, thus, in part, preserving God's Church and keeping the Lamanites from messing it up. Of course, that only worked for so long, but we humans are always messing that up. Comes with the whole "free-will" thing.

As to archaeological evidence, I don't have much to say. The Nephites all died out a very long time ago, while the Jews never did, so there would be far more evidence about their stories than the Nephites. However, I believe that there are still signs of old things that happened. The Inca civilization, which was created in an area where we believe the Nephites Landed (roughly), made great ships, and there has been evidence of that. If you need me to, I'll see if I can find that information for you somewhere, but I don't have the time right now. We believe that the Lamanites were actually the Inca, seeing as the Lamanites stayed in the Southern part of the "Promised Land" (Which was what they called the Americas) and the Nephites eventually became the Aztecs, seeing as they stayed in the North. Eventually, after the Book of Mormon was written and hidden away, the Nephites and Lamanites became too intermingled to be able to tell the difference.

I think I've covered your question... if I haven't or you'd like to see some sources then please tell me.